ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Joseph Dunford will visit Pakistan next week, US Defense Secretary James Mattis confirmed during a press briefing on Wednesday.
“The secretary of state and the chairman are going to fly in to Islamabad to meet with the new government that’s in place there now,” he said.
Pompeo and Gen. Dunford are expected to arrive in Islamabad on September 5 for a day-long visit before heading to New Delhi.
During the visit, the two top US officials are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and other Pakistani leaders to discuss relations between the two countries.
Mattis said that the delegation intends to “make very clear what we have to do, all of our nations, in meeting our common foe, the terrorists and make that a primary part of the discussion”.
Relations between Islamabad and Washington stalled last week after the Foreign Office rejected a statement released by the US State Department pertaining to the contents of a phone call between Pompeo and Khan.
Khan is known for criticizing the US military policies in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan.
In his maiden address to the nation, Khan said: “Pakistan’s relationship with the US should be mutually beneficial ... up until now, that has been one way. We will opt for balanced relations with the US.”
