US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has
confirmed that she will visit Pakistan for an 'in-depth strategic
discussion' about bilateral cooperation.
Although her schedule is being kept a tightly-guarded secret for
security reasons, diplomatic sources say that she is expected soon, the
Dawn reports.One source said that Clinton would visit Islamabad on Friday, but it could not be independently verified.
Without confirming or denying that Clinton was due on Friday, US Embassy Spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said that an announcement was yet to be made by the State Department in this regard.
Pakistan's Embassy in Washington maintained a similar line and said that Clinton had agreed to visit Pakistan, but asked to await the State Department's announcement.
Clinton's visit would be the clearest signal as yet that the US and Pakistan are committed to remaining engaged despite a series of clashes.
Earlier this year, the Raymond Davis diplomatic row took its toll on US-Pak relations, which were already strained over stepped-up drone strikes in Pakistan's militant-infested tribal region and disagreements over the war in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Since al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2 in a top-secret US unilateral military operation in Pakistan's Abbottabad city, relations became even more frayed.
And now, US-Pak ties have hit a new low since the Dawn began publishing more than 4,000 never-before-seen US diplomatic cables last week, which it obtained from the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks concerning America's operations in the region. (ANI)
