ISLAMABAD: Pakistan National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, said on Tuesday a special parliamentary contact group has been formed to foster Islamabad’s ties with the US Congress.

Qaiser expressed Pakistan’s willingness to promote interparliamentary relations during a meeting with Angela Aggeler, chargé d’affaires of the US Embassy in Islamabad, to discuss US-Pakistani relations and the situation in neighboring Afghanistan.

“He informed that he had established a contact group comprising senior Parliamentarians Asad Umar, Hina Rabbani Khar and Khurrum Dastagir Khan to interact with their US counterparts for promoting parliamentary friendship,” the National Assembly said in a statement.

Umar is Pakistan’s current planning minister, while Khar and Khan are former ministers of foreign affairs.

Qaiser and Aggler’s meeting came a week after Pakistan hosted a special session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to call on Muslim and other countries and international institutions to come in aid of Afghanistan. US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West had also attended the OIC moot.

Aggler “appreciated the Pakistani leadership for holding the OIC Conference in Islamabad,” the National Assembly said, adding that US-Pakistan parliamentary engagement “would strengthen existing bilateral relations.”

“Ms. Angela termed relations between US and Pakistan based on trust and cooperation. She appreciated Pakistan’s role in comity of nations.”

Pakistan-US relations have been strained since Afghanistan’s Western-backed administration collapsed in mid-August as US-led forces withdrew and the Taliban took control. In September, Republican senators pressed for legislation back home that called for sanctions on Pakistan for providing safe haven for the Taliban — Islamabad denies this.

The move has raised hackles among Pakistan’s leaders, who have slammed Washington for what they say is unjust blaming of Pakistan for America’s losses in Afghanistan — especially after seeking and receiving Islamabad’s help in the protracted peace talks with the Taliban last year.