The United States on Tuesday said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will cover the entire spectrum of issues in US-Pakistan relations when they hold talks here on Friday. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said the two sides will look to build upon the recent high-level contacts between the two countries.
“That is a long expected visit,” Nuland said of the foreign minister’s meeting.
Foreign Minister Khar arrived in Washington on Tuesday afternoon for her first official visit to Washington since assuming the office. Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Sherry Rehman received the foreign minister.
“I am expecting that the full range of issues we have with Pakistan, bilateral and regional etc will be covered including our continuing effort to get our counterterrorism activities back up and running fully.” The meeting between the two diplomats on Friday will be their fourth as they previously met in Pakistan, Tokyo and at the UN General Assembly session in New York last year. “They have a working relationship together. They have both rolled up their sleeves to try to stabilize and strengthen the relationship.” Asked if the issue of Afghan Haqqani militant group will be discussed, the spokesperson said she would not lay out the agenda that the two sides may take up, but reminded that Washington has been talking to Islamabad about the need to squeeze the network from the Pakistani side of the border.
US says Khar, Clinton to take up entire spectrum of issues
