Kerry arrives in Pakistan, seeks improved relations

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Pakistan Wednesday, July31 seeking improved relations with a nuclear-armed state crucial to the Obama administration’s plans to withdraw troops from neighboring Afghanistan, Bloomberg reports.

Kerry’s visit is the first by a top U.S. official since Nawaz Sharif was elected prime minister in May and the first by a secretary of state in two years. The top U.S. diplomat will emphasize cooperation on economic development, the fight against terrorism, regional stability and nuclear security, U.S. officials, who asked not to be identified in advance of the talks, told reporters traveling with him.

The visit come at a rare moment when there’s no crisis in a relationship that has been marked by tensions over U.S. drone strikes and disputes about whether Pakistan is doing enough to combat terrorist groups that operate in the country and cross over into Afghanistan.

“One has to keep expectations low for any dramatic improvement in the U.S.-Pakistani relationship,” Karl Inderfurth, a former assistant secretary of state for South Asia who is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said. “We have been in a very deep hole for a long time. At end of the day, we can’t live with them and we can’t live without them. That’s true on both sides.”

Kerry will have more than 12 hours of meetings tomorrow with Sharif and top civilian and military leaders. He also will make a stop in London for meetings en route back to Washington, according to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.