WASHINGTON: Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir Thursday led Pakistani side in talks with US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman at a meeting of the steering group at the State Department.
According to officials, the two countries are seeking ways to sort out differences that cropped up in the wake of recent incidents and find "strategic convergences" to keep their strategic relationship on track.
Bashir, the top Pakistani career diplomat, is visiting Washington at the
invitation of Marc Grosssmn and will also have meetings with Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides and Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake later in the day.
Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani, Deputy Chief of the Mission Iffat Gardezi, Director General Americas in the Foreign Ministry Suhail Khan and Spokesperson of the Foreign Office Tehmina Janjua, are in the Pakistani delegation that will attend two rounds of the steering group meeting on Thursday and Friday.
The meetings take place in the backdrop of tensions revolving around the Central Intelligence Agency contractor, Raymond Davis killing of two Pakistanis and frequent drone strikes in Pakistani Tribal Areas that Islamabad has strongly objected to.
Security and foreign affairs experts believe that cooperative relations between Pakistan and the United States, who have been fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the Afghan border region since 9/11 terrorist attacks, are critical to outcome of a decade-old conflict in Afghanistan.
The two sides will issue a joint statement at the end of the meetings.
Discussions in Washington coincide with meetings between the top military leadership of two countries in Pakistan. Speaker of the U.S. House of Representative John Boehner also met with Pakistani political leadership in Islamabad.
"We look forward to moving forward," Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani said in a briefing on the eve of talks. In addition to bilateral issues, the discussions are expected to cover efforts towards resolution of the Afghan conflict and regional situation with reference to Pakistan's eastern neighbour India.-APP
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