Kerry to visit Pakistan, India this month

Published June 13, 2013
US Secretary of State John Kerry.—File Photo
US Secretary of State John Kerry.—File Photo

ISLAMABAD: US Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Pakistan and India this month for the first time since taking office, officials in Delhi and Islamabad said on Thursday.

Kerry's scheduled visit to Pakistan is the most senior foreign trip to be announced since Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistani prime minister after May elections.

“US Secretary of State Mr John Kerry will be visiting Pakistan in the last week of June,” Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.

He said the specific dates of Kerry's visit would be announced once they had been finalised.

US officials previously said Kerry would visit once the new government was in place.

A senior Indian government official said Kerry would be in New Delhi on June 23 and 24, adding that Afghanistan would be one of the main topics up for discussion.

“They (the Americans) have repeatedly said that they welcome India's role in Afghanistan... They would like to see it go forward,” said the official on condition of anonymity.

“We would like to get from the secretary a better idea of what the American plans are,” the official added.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...