Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are expected to discuss wide-ranging issues during their meeting. -AFP File Photo

WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will arrive in Washington on Tuesday for talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other senior officials on bilateral relationship, crucial to the outcome of the Afghan conflict.

The two top diplomats are expected to discuss wide-ranging issues including ways to enhance economic and trade cooperation, counterterrorism work along the Durrand Line, peace and security efforts in Afghanistan and regional issues of common interest.

Besides holding formal talks with Clinton, the Pakistani foreign minister will meet with US National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

On Capitol Hill, Khar will meet Congressional leaders including Senator John Kerry, who chairs the influential Foreign Relations Committee and spell out Islamabad's views on various issues of mutual concern, including security situation in Pakistan's western neighbour Afghanistan.

During her visit, the foreign minister will also interact with the media and American intelligentsia at think tank events.

Islamabad seeks to establish mutually respectful ties with the United States, with a particular emphasis on increased access for its textile products and inflow of US investment into various sectors of the economy.

Washington, on the other hand, stresses greater Pakistani cooperation against terrorists operating along the porous Pak-Afghan border.

Islamabad has voiced its opposition to American use of drone attacks against militants holed up in the tribal areas, saying such unilateral actions violate the country's sovereignty and inflame militancy in the region.

Foreign Minister Khar's visit takes place in the backdrop of some improvement in the bilateral ties after the July resumption of Pakistani land routes for Nato supplies into landlocked Afghanistan.

Opinion

Editorial

Digital growth
Updated 25 Apr, 2024

Digital growth

Democratising digital development will catalyse a rapid, if not immediate, improvement in human development indicators for the underserved segments of the Pakistani citizenry.
Nikah rights
25 Apr, 2024

Nikah rights

THE Supreme Court recently delivered a judgement championing the rights of women within a marriage. The ruling...
Campus crackdowns
25 Apr, 2024

Campus crackdowns

WHILE most Western governments have either been gladly facilitating Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, or meekly...
Ties with Tehran
Updated 24 Apr, 2024

Ties with Tehran

Tomorrow, if ties between Washington and Beijing nosedive, and the US asks Pakistan to reconsider CPEC, will we comply?
Working together
24 Apr, 2024

Working together

PAKISTAN’S democracy seems adrift, and no one understands this better than our politicians. The system has gone...
Farmers’ anxiety
24 Apr, 2024

Farmers’ anxiety

WHEAT prices in Punjab have plummeted far below the minimum support price owing to a bumper harvest, reckless...