Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said on Monday that Washington could not deal “lightly” with al-Qaeda in Pakistan, but promised to address Islamabad’s concerns after a US attack on a Pakistani village.

Her remarks came as Shaukat Aziz, Pakistan’s prime minister, tried to strike a conciliatory note in his country’s relations with the US following the attack. He is due in Washington on Wednesday for a week-long visit in an effort to forge closer economic ties.