ISLAMABAD: US ambassador Alice Wells is visiting Pakistan Tuesday, with bilateral relations and the Afghan peace process expected to be on the agenda.
Her trip is a follow-up to September’s visit from US Secretary State Mike Pompeo and his meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, ministry spokesman Dr. Mohamed Faisal tweeted.
Wells is also due to meet Finance Minister Asad Umar and a possible IMF bailout is expected to be discussed.
Pakistan’s economy is sagging under a current account deficit of $18 billion, mainly due to high import bills, insufficient exports and home remittances, and forex reserves are dangerously low.
The government has attempted to get funds from other Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Prime Minister Imran Khan and senior cabinet members were in China recently, hoping for a similar package from one of its biggest investors.
Pakistan had approached the IMF but, in August, Pompeo said: “We’ll be watching what the IMF does. There’s no rationale for IMF tax dollars, and associated with that American dollars that are part of the IMF funding, for those to go to bail out Chinese bondholders or China itself.”
Ties between Pakistan and the US have been under since January, following the announcement of a South Asia strategy by US President Donald Trump. Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terrorists – a charge Pakistan denies.
Later in the year the Pentagon froze $300 million in aid “due to a lack of decisive actions” on Pakistan’s part to eliminate terrorists from the country. The freeze was raised during Pompeo’s visit.
Pakistan claims the money is not aid but a refund for expenses incurred during the war on terror and for its support of the US and NATO-led armed forces.
US Deputy Secretary of State visiting Pakistan
US Deputy Secretary of State visiting Pakistan
- Bilateral relations and Afghan peace process on the agenda
- Pakistan-US ties strained since January
Six cops killed as IED explosion targets police vehicle in northwestern Pakistan
- Blast in northwestern Tank district kills inspector, additional sub-inspector, driver and three members of elite force personnel, says police official
- Attack takes place as Islamabad grapples with surge in militant attacks in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan
PESHAWAR: Six cops were killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast that targeted a police vehicle in Pakistan’s northwestern Tank district on Monday, a police official said as Islamabad struggles to contain surging militant attacks in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
The IED explosion targeted an armored police vehicle on the Gomal-Jutta Road near the Kot Wali Canal area, Tank police spokesperson Younas Khan said. The blast killed an inspector, an additional sub-inspector, the driver of the vehicle and three members of the police’s elite force personnel.
“The armored police vehicle was completely damaged in the explosion,” Khan said.
He said senior police officials, including District Police Officer (DPO) Tank Shabbir Hussain Shah reached the site of the blast to collect evidence and carry out an operation in the nearby rugged terrain.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the incident, directing authorities to carry out an investigation into the incident.
“The terrorists responsible for this attack will be brought to their logical end at the earliest,” Sharif was quoted as saying by his office.
KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi praised police for their sacrifices against militancy, vowing to bring all those involved in the incident to justice.
“Anti-peace elements would not succeed in their nefarious designs by targeting the police force,” Afridi said as per a statement released from his office.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant outfit has claimed responsibility for some of the deadliest attacks targeting law enforcement personnel in KP in the past. The TTP has frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil to armed outfits such as the TTP. It has also alleged that India backs militant groupswho carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
