WASHINGTON: Derek Chollet, a counselor at US State Department, will lead a delegation to Pakistan this week as Washington and Islamabad seek to “repair” ties ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition claims strained under former prime minister Imran Khan.
The delegation will visit Bangladesh and Pakistan from February 14-18 to meet with senior government officials, civil society members and business leaders, the State Department said in a statement on Monday.
Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament last April, had antagonised the United States throughout his tenure, the government claims. He welcomed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 and later accused Washington of being behind the attempt to oust him in April of last year.
Washington dismissed his accusations. Khan was succeeded as prime minister by more pliant Shehbaz Sharif.
The US delegation’s visit comes as the economy of Pakistan is still reeling from devastating floods last year that left at least 1,700 people dead, and the government estimates rebuilding efforts will cost $16 billion.
The nuclear-armed nation is in the grip of a full-blown economic crisis. Talks between Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were scheduled to resume online this week after 10 days of face-to-face discussions in Islamabad on how to keep the country afloat ended without a deal on Friday.
Dawn reported late in January that Pakistan had sought US support to unlock the stalled IMF program that would release $1.1 billion to its strained economy as the country rebuilds.
“The delegation will also reaffirm the strong security cooperation between our nations,” the State Department said on Monday.
Economic ties and cooperation to tackle the impact of climate change would be on the agenda in the meeting between the two nations, the department added.
