Senior Official from US Department of State travels to Pakistan

A high-level official from a branch of the US Department of State, Alice G. Wells, arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday, to hold discussions with senior Government officials on various issues concerning the two countries, a press release from Washinton confirmed.

Wells, who heads the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, a branch of the US Department of State that deals with US foreign policy and relations with South Asian countries, will meet with US Embassy staff, several senior Pakistani government officials, international organization leaders, and members of the private sector in Islamabad.

Wells will discuss The US' South Asia strategy and Pakistan's stated commitment to eliminate all terrorist groups present in its country, as well as the US' shared interest in building economic and commercial ties that benefit both nations.

She will also travel to Karachi to meet with senior government officials and the members of the business community. She will discuss The US' ongoing efforts to build strong economic and people-to-people ties.

This comes amid apparent strains in the relations between the two nations, as US President Donald Trump lately cut off financial aid of around USD two billion to Pakistan. Trump had earlier tweeted that Washington had 'foolishly' given more than USD 33 billion for 15 years.

A lot of the blame, for the brewing rift in relations between the countries, has been pointed at Pakistan's inability to control active Islamic militants in the country and its neighbours, causing the Trump administration to place Pakistan on the watch list of Paris based Financial Action Task Force's list of countries with inadequate terrorist financing controls, which will happen in July.

--ANI

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