ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: Canadian foreign minister Bill Graham, who is scheduled to arrive here on Thursday, will hold wide-ranging consultations with the Pakistan government, covering important bilateral and regional issues.
This will be Mr Graham’s first visit to Pakistan.
During his stay in the capital, the Canadian foreign minister will call on President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali and hold delegation level talks, led by Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, at the foreign office.
Officials said although the agenda would focus largely on bilateral relations it would include a review of the regional situation.
“India-Pakistan peace process, situation in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Commonwealth will figure in talks between the two sides,” a foreign ministry source told Dawn.
On the bilateral front, economic cooperation and the ongoing cooperation in the war on terrorism would be discussed, the source added.
Pakistan would also raise the issue of stringent Canadian visa regime and the recent arrest of 18 Pakistanis, mostly students, on suspected Al Qaeda links, informed sources said.
President Musharraf’s official visit to Canada from Sept 25 to 27 would also be discussed, they said.
According to an official source, Mr Graham will reach Pakistan on Wednesday night and leave for Kabul the next morning for an overnight stay there.
He will return to Islamabad on Friday and hold talks here on Saturday. He will depart on Sunday morning.
