Pakistan has reacted angrily to the US army's top officer's suggestion that the government sanctioned the killing of journalist Saleem Shahzad. Information Minister, Firdous Ashiq Awan said that Admiral Mike Mullen's statement is extremely irresponsible and regrettable. She said it will cause difficulties in relations between the two sides and prove a setback to the war against terror. US-Pakistan relations have been extremely fraught in recent months. But Admiral Mullen's remarks are the most explicit yet in a downward spiral in recent US-Pakistan relations.