ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: The second round of broad-based Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue aimed at building a long-term sustainable partnership will begin in Islamabad on November 6, it is learnt.

The two-day meeting will be co-chaired by Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan and US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns.

The inaugural meeting of the Strategic Dialogue was held in Washington in April this year.

Under-Secretary Nicholas Burns will be leading a team of senior officials including Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Richard Boucher.

This will be the first high-level contact between the two countries after President General Pervez Musharraf’s meeting with US President George W. Bush in Washington last month and the North Korean nuclear test.

Notably, the Pakistan-US Strategic Dialogue will take place just a week before the crucial meeting between the foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India. In Washington, there appears to be a sense of satisfaction about Islamabad’s handling of its eastern neighbour and the canvas of engagement is westwards of Pakistan.