French and British FMs to visit Pakistan

By Shaukat Piracha

ISLAMABAD: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw is scheduled to visit Pakistan on March 3 to discuss the nuclear scientists and bilateral issues, sources told Daily Times on Wednesday.

Mr Straw would meet Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri and call on other senior government officials during his two-day stay, they said, adding that he would also discuss the current Indo-Pak dialogue with Pakistani officials. Asked whether the issue of bugging the Pakistani High Commission in London would be taken up, sources said both countries had ‘settled’ the issue.

President Pervez Musharraf had refused to meet Mr Straw during his stay last summer because of ‘some’ remarks the British foreign secretary had made in New Delhi. Sources said Mr Straw’s meeting itinerary was still being made and therefore it could not be confirmed whether he would call on President Musharraf this time. It was also officially announced that French Foreign Minister Dr Dominique de Villepin would visit Pakistan from February 28, 2004 accompanied by an eight-member delegation.

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