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Hillary to meet top leadership, revive strategic dialogue in Islamabad

* US secretary of state’s first visit to country to help revive Pak-US strategic dialogue

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is arriving in Pakistan next Wednesday on her first visit to the country to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and the country’s military leadership.

However, the US State Department said on Friday that Clinton will travel to Pakistan "soon", adding that dates could not be announced for security reasons.

“The secretary of state is visiting at a crucial time and the purpose of the visit is to strengthen the strategic partnership with Pakistan and assure long-term relations with Pakistan,” a diplomatic source said.

Strategic dialogue: The visit would help revive the Pak-US strategic dialogue, which was already raised to the ministerial level in August.

Clinton and Foreign Minister Qureshi will co-chair the new round of the upgraded dialogue.

The revival of the strategic dialogue would give a major boost to bilateral relations, which have lately been channelled through the US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke.

The inaugural Pakistan-US strategic dialogue was held in Washington in April 2006 and was co-chaired by Pakistan’s then foreign secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan and US under secretary of state Nicholas Burns.

The decision to launch the strategic dialogue under the Pakistan-US strategic partnership was taken during the March 4, 2006 summit talks between then Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf and his US counterpart George W Bush.

During her meetings with the Pakistani leadership, the US secretary of state will be briefed on the country’s efforts to root out extremism and terrorism.

The government will also inform her about the successful military campaign against the Taliban in Swat, and the ongoing operation in South Waziristan.

The ongoing debate over US aid under the Kerry-Lugar legislation and army’s reservations on the law will also be part of Clinton’s discussions with the Pakistani leadership during her two-day visit.

The diplomatic sources said Clinton would try to assure various stakeholders that the US was not interested in micromanaging Pakistan or enforcing unnecessary restrictions that could harm long-term relations.

Pakistan’s concern over India’s involvement in Afghanistan and Balochistan is also likely to be taken up with Clinton.

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