ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is rushing to the United States to convey Pakistan's concerns over controversial clauses in the Kerry-Lugar bill, a source in the Foreign Office told Dawn on Sunday.

“It is an unscheduled visit during which the foreign minister will definitely discuss the bill,” the source said.

The visit is significant because Mr Qureshi had cut short his visit to the US and returned only on Friday when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani asked him to rush back home.

Now he is leaving for Washington again on Monday following heated debate on the bill in the National Assembly and consulta

tions among President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Gilani and Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani.

Mr Qureshi is expected to meet his counterpart Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the prime minister called Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and leaders of several political parties on Sunday to brief them on his government's stance on the bill, reports APP.

He spoke to PML-F chief Pir Pagara, PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat and Pervaiz Elahi, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan, PTI chief Imran Khan, MQM chief Altaf Hussain, MQM leader Farooq Sattar, MNA from Fata Munir Orakzai, Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Munawwar Hassan and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party president Mehmood Khan Achakzai.

The prime minister called the leaders as part of his efforts to forge consensus among the top political leadership.