Senior US officials to visit Islamabad to bolster bilateral talks

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will witness back-to-back visits by senior US officials starting tomorrow, the foreign office spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.

“Pakistan and the United States continue to hold consultations on a range of issues,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a statement. “To advance these consultations, exchange of visits also takes place.”

Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes is scheduled to visit the country from December 4 to 6, she said.

FO spokesperson said that Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West will be visiting Islamabad from December 7 to 9 while Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Pakistan Elizabeth Horst will pay a visit from December 9 to 12.

“These visits are a part of the ongoing negotiations with the US on several issues, including the situation in Afghanistan,” said the spokesperson, adding that they are not only limited to the issue of Afghanistan.

According to the US State Department, Noyes will meet with senior government officials, as well as non-governmental and international organisation partners.

The statement described the purpose of her visit to discuss “shared efforts to protect vulnerable individuals and accelerate safe, efficient relocation and resettlement of Afghan refugees in the US immigration pipeline.”