Top US State Dept official in Pakistan for crucial talks

Press Trust of India  |  Islamabad 

A top is in for another round of talks with top officials about bilateral and regional issues, including the peace process in

"She will hold meeting with senior officials at the Wells will also call on the Finance Minister," he said.

Faisal also said that the aim of her visit was to follow up on discussions between and in with a view to further strengthen bilateral relations.

Qureshi and Pompeo had first met in and the meeting was encouraging enough to be followed up in when Pakistan's attended the

Diplomatic sources said that Wells would focus on efforts to reset the relations between the two nations while remaining focus on kick-starting the Afghan peace talks.

Earlier, both countries had agreed that the Afghan should engage in dialogue to reach a political settlement, reported.

As part of this, released a high-profile Afghan and former Mullah on Washington's request, the report said.

Baradar was deputy to the late He was arrested from in a joint Pakistan-US operation after reports that he was independently trying to conclude a deal with

Relations between and the US are under stress due to allegation that was not doing enough to curb terrorism and to bring Taliban to the negotiating table.

But lately new efforts have been launched to improve the trust level after Pompeo visited Islamabad in September.

Last month, the US also visited Pakistan before flying to Doha, where he reportedly held talks with the Taliban representatives.

The visit by Ambassador Wells comes just a day before an (IMF) delegation is set to begin a two-week trip to Islamabad to discuss a possible bailout package to the cash-stripped economy of the country.

The US support is crucial in getting any bailout from the international lending body.

Previously, Pompeo cautioned the IMF against a possible fresh bailout for Pakistan's new government to pay off Chinese lenders who have invested in the strategic China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Pakistan's economy is currently struggling due to falling exports whilst rising make imports more expensive.

The country has foreign reserves of USD 9 billion, not enough to pay for imports over the coming months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, November 06 2018. 13:00 IST