WASHINGTON, May 30: Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri is scheduled to visit Washington on June 17 for a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

The talks between the two top diplomats are expected to focus on bilateral relations and Pakistan’s role in the US-led war on terror, the sources said. Mr Kasuri also plans to meet US lawmakers and other senior officials.

His visit comes at a time when the government in Pakistan faces a growing unrest over the suspension of the chief justice.

Although, in their public pronouncements, US officials have backed the Musharraf government, privately they acknowledge that they are worried the protest may get out of hand.

This will be Mr Kasuri’s first visit to Washington since the election of a new Congress in November which gave control of both the chambers to the Democrats.

Several Democratic lawmakers have publicly expressed their concern over the current judicial crisis, urging the Bush administration to take steps to ensure Pakistan’s transition to full and unfettered democracy.

In a letter sent recently to President Bush, some lawmakers also urged him to look for new allies in Pakistan.