John Kerry arrives in Pakistan on 2-day official visit

Islamabad, Jan 12: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday arrived in Islamabad on a two-day official visit to Pakistan in which he will meet Pakistan's political and military leadership and will discuss bilateral relations and the regional security situation, media reported.

Senior officials from the Pakistani government and a senior official from the US desk of the Foreign Office along with senior protocol officers and senior US embassy diplomats in Islamabad received Kerry when he arrived after completing his visit to India, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kerry will meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif later in the evening at the Prime Minister's House in Islamabad.

On Tuesday, Kerry will lead a US delegation at the foreign ministry of Pakistan in Islamabad for the Pakistan-US strategic dialogue.

After the dialogue, he will meet Pakistan Army Chief Gen. Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters of the Pakistan Army in the garrison city of Rawalpindi to discuss security and defence cooperation between the two countries, the reports said.

On Jan 8, Pakistan's foreign ministry said Pakistan and the US would discuss all aspects of their bilateral relations, and regional and international situation during the forthcoming Pakistan-US strategic dialogue process.

"The visit of John Kerry to Pakistan for the strategic dialogue process will open new avenues of cooperation between the two countries," the foreign ministry statement said.

The last session of the dialogue was held in Washington in January last year.

The strategic dialogue will focus mainly on energy, security, strategic stability, non-proliferation, counter-terrorism, economy, law enforcement and defence-related issues.

IANS