Washington, May 17(ANI): US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to visit Pakistan for an "in-depth strategic discussion" about bilateral cooperation, and the US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Marc Grossman, will be leaving for Islamabad this week 'to lay the groundwork for her eventual visit', the State Department has said.
"The Secretary does plan to visit Pakistan in order to have an in-depth strategic discussion about our cooperation and to convey the U.S. Government's views on the way forward of Pakistan. She'll go when she can have those discussions in the right context and with the right preparation, and we're engaged right now with the Pakistanis to lay that groundwork," Deputy Department Spokesman Mark Toner during a press briefing.
"Just over the past 24 hours she spoke with senior Pakistani leaders, from President [Asif Ali] Zardari to Prime Minister [Syed Yousuf Raza] Gilani, as well as [Pakistan Army Chief] General General Kayani," he added.
Toner also said that Grossman is supposed to leave this week for Pakistan.
He will "also continue those discussions and continue to lay the groundwork for Clinton's eventual visit," the spokesman added.
Toner said that the US is presently laying the groundwork for Clinton's visit and the dates will be announced, "when we're confident the groundwork has been laid."
When asked whether Clinton will meet with Pakistani opposition figures during her visit, Toner said he was not sure about it.
"Usually, she meets with a broad range of civil society and opposition figures. I don't know what - I mean, again, her schedule would be in flux. I don't want to get into too much detail. We haven't announced anything beyond her intent to go there," he added. (ANI)
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