Washington, Sep 19 : United States special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, has said that the US-Pakistan partnership is “complicated, but indispensable,” and reaffirmed the Obama administration’s support to Pakistan.

Holbrooke said this while quashing media reports, which had suggested that the US embassy in Islamabad was expanding in order to secretly house 1000 marines as some kind of a military footprint, The News reports.

He emphasised that the embassy was being enlarged to help relations between the two close allies, and said: “We are enlarging the embassy, because Pakistan is very important and our embassy is smaller than that of let’s say Colombia. We need to increase the size of the embassy in order to serve the policies (that befit) relations between the two nations, who have a complicated, but indispensable relationship and partnership.”

Holbrooke was speaking at an event to launch a Pashto broadcast service along Pakistan-Afghanistan border regions by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

He further said that the US was looking forward to contributing to Pakistan citizens by broadcasting in the local language.

“The key is Pakistanis themselves, and we will support them every way we can, in the media area as everywhere else. We are not going to set up American broadcasting stations, this is an open part of the international network (providing) the means of communication to the people of Pakistan,” Holbrooke said.