Summary During talks‚ Pakistan will raise the issue of drone attacks with the US Secretary of State.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Delegation level talks between Pakistan and the United States have resumed at the Foreign Office in Islamabad today (Thursday).
Pakistani delegation is being led by Advisor to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and US delegation is headed by Secretary of State John Kerry.
The two sides are discussing bilateral relations‚ Afghan situation and cooperation in diverse fields including energy and education.
During talks‚ Pakistan will raise the issue of drone attacks with the US Secretary of State.
John Kerry arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday evening, and planned meetings with civilian and military leaders, including Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Senior administration officials traveling with Kerry told reporters that while relations with Pakistan have grown touchy in recent years, there is the prospect of resetting those ties with Nawaz Sharif s government and working together on major issues including counterterrorism, energy, regional stability, economic reforms, trade and investment.
Relations took a hit after the U.S. raid in 2011 that killed Osama bin Laden in his compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan.
Pakistanis felt the raid violated their country s sovereignty.
The U.S. wants Pakistan to pressure leaders of the Afghan Taliban to negotiate with Afghan President Hamid Karzai s government, renounce violence and sever ties with al-Qaida.
John Kerry planned to for better relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Karzai has announced his intent to visit Pakistan soon, but previous bilateral meetings have yielded little.
Kerry has a long history of dealing with Pakistan.
As chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry was a main sponsor of a 2010 law that boosted U.S. assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year until 2014. The Obama administration enlisted Kerry to help arrange the release of a CIA contractor who was arrested in Pakistan after killing two men in 2011.
Drone strikes are another point of contention.
Washington says it needs to attack militants with drones because Pakistan s government refuses to engage them militarily. Pakistan contends the drone strikes are a fresh violation of its sovereignty, and they have increased widespread anti-American sentiment in the country.
There have been 16 drone strikes in Pakistan this year, compared with a peak of 122 in 2010, 73 in 2011 and 48 in 2012, according to the New America Foundation, a U.S.-based think tank.
