US delegation to visit Pakistan to repair diplomatic ties
US State Department Counselor Derek Chollet will lead a delegation to Pakistan this week as Washington and Islamabad seek to repair ties strained under former Premier Imran Khan.
The United States delegation will visit Bangladesh and Pakistan from Feb 14-18 to meet with senior government officials, civil society members and business leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Monday.
Imran Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament April 2022, had antagonized the United States throughout his tenure. He welcomed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 and accused Washington of being behind the attempt to oust him in 2022.
The US delegation's visit comes as the 350 billion US dollar economy of Pakistan is still reeling from devastating floods previous year that left at least 1,700 people dead, and the government estimates rebuilding efforts will cost 16 billion dollar.
The nuclear-armed nation is in the grip of a full-blown economic crisis. Talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were scheduled to resume online this week after 10 days of face-to-face discussions in Islamabad on how to keep the country afloat ended without a deal on Friday.
The delegation will also reaffirm the strong security cooperation between our nations, the US State Department said on Monday.
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