By Muhammad Luqman
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will arrive in Pakistan on Tuesday (tomorrow) for crucial talks that will set a course for future Islamabad-Washington ties.
During his one-day visit, Tillerson will meet Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa for talks on bilateral cooperation between the two countries and to seek Pakistan’s help for American efforts to reach a peaceful solution of Afghanistan problem. US Secretary of State will also discuss Pak-US ties, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of South Asia strategy of the US and the expanding economic ties between the two countries.
“The Secretary will meet with senior Pakistani leaders to discuss our continued bilateral cooperation, Pakistan’s critical role in the success of our South Asia strategy, and the expanding economic ties between our two countries,” a State Department spokesperson had recently said.
She had said that the secretary was due to meet with the prime minister, foreign minister and senior military officials to discuss joint efforts between Pakistan and the United States to fight terrorist groups that threaten regional peace and stability and how “Pakistan can support our effort to reach a peaceful solution in Afghanistan”.
After his visit to Islamabad, Tillerson will travel to New Delhi as part of his Asia visit. Tillerson began his visit from Oct 20 from Saudi Arabia where he took part in the inaugural Coordination Council meeting between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Secretary Tillerson’s visit to Islamabad follows the visit by Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to Washington earlier this month during which he met high US officials to discuss the US-Pakistan relations and the new South Asia strategy announced by President Trump in August this year.
Earlier this month, Pakistan and the US made a breakthrough in bilateral cooperation with the resumption of official dialogue over future strategy on Afghanistan and rest of the issues in the South
