US envoy in Pakistan for talks with Khar, Hafeez

ISLAMABAD: A top US diplomat was in Pakistan for talks on Wednesday. Washington billed the visit by Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides as the next step in re-engagement after the two countries' relationship suffered badly over US air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

Nides was due to hold talks with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. A United States official said joint statements would be issued but that no press conference was scheduled.

General James Mattis, the head of US Central Command, and General John Allen, the US commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, last week visited Pakistan in the first such trip since the border incident.