US Deputy Secretary of State visiting Pakistan

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.