ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Raza Rabbani has suggested that Prime Minister Imran Khan should not meet US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo during his visit to Pakistan and only the foreign minister should hold talks with the US leader.

Talking to Dawn on Monday, he said that protocol demanded that the prime minister should not meet Mr Pompeo as whenever a Pakistani prime minister visited the US, he was not received by the US president.

“Moreover this is not for the first time that the US has cut the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) of $300 million as it had also previously stopped payment of $500 million to Pakistan,” he said.

He regretted that despite a number of sacrifices rendered by Pakistan for peace in the region, the US was constantly asking to do more. Not only the US has advised the International Monitory Fund (IMF) not to give loan to Pakistan, but it also ended military training programme, he said.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi recently explained that the US had not blocked any aid to Pakistan, but it had only stopped reimbursement of $300 million to the country.

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Joseph F. Dunford will visit Pakistan on Wednesday.

They will also meet Prime Minister Imran Khan during the visit.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2018