US envoy Alice Wells to arrive in Islamabad on Tuesday

Ambassador Wells will follow up on Qureshi-Pompeo meetings in Washington, according to the Foreign Office

Web Desk

November 05, 2018

Ambassador Alice Wells will follow up on Qureshi-Pompeo meetings in Washington, according to the Foreign Office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal.

ISLAMABAD: Alice Wells, United States' Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, will arrive in Islamabad on Tuesday, the Foreign Office of Pakistan said, to follow up on Qureshi-Pompeo meetings in Washington.

The US envoy will hold meeting with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a spokesman for the Foreign office, Dr Mohammad Faisal, said on Twitter.

"The aim would be to follow up on discussions between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and [US] Secretary of State Michael Pompeo with a view to further strengthen bilateral relations," Faisal said.

Ambassador Wells will also call on Finance Minister Asad Umar, he added.

Qureshi visited the US for 10 days in September-October, where he held meetings with numerous important leaders and think tanks in the US, as well as the Pakistani diaspora.

Of bilateral relations with the US and matters of mutual interest, Qureshi said they made "significant progress". American officials have made critical comments about Pakistan in the past, he said, adding that over the past year, Islamabad was "bombarded with criticism".

But, there has been a "visible change in how the US conducted talks this time", he commented. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was "ready to listen" to what Pakistan had to stay, especially after his visit to Islamabad last month.

Washington got the impression that Pakistan's civilian and military leadership is on one page, he mentioned, and that US officials were now issuing positive, not negative, statements.

There was a difference between the two countries' viewpoints, Qureshi explained, but that was due to misunderstanding and was cleared.

"We wish to respect the United States' laws. The US, in return, needs to respect Pakistani laws," he commented, adding that he was returning to Pakistan "slightly more hopeful" than before.