Rice in Islamabad for Talks With Sharif

Washington, August 30,2015:-U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice is in Pakistan for talks Sunday with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and other top officials.

Rice arrived in Islamabad late Saturday for the previously unannounced visit.

Rice began her  talks with Pakistani leaders Sunday morning by meeting Mr. Sharif.  Later, she is scheduled to hold delegation-level talks with Sharif's advisor on national security and foreign policy, Sartaj Aziz, and will also meet with Pakistan's military chief General Raheel Sharif.

The U.S. State Department said the talks were expected to focus on mutual interests and areas of concern, "particularly terrorist and militant attacks emanating from Pakistani soil." Rice also is likely to discuss Pakistan's role in Afghanistan's effort to negotiate peace with the Taliban and a recent rise in tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.

VOA's Ayaz Gul reports Pakistani officials said they would emphasize during meetings with Rice that direct meetings between the Kabul government and the Taliban must resume quickly.

Rice's talks also are believed to involve the agenda for an expected visit to Washington by Sharif in late October. Pakistani officials have spoken of Sharif's travel plans privately, but there has been no announcement by the U.S. side.

Local news reports speculated that the visit was arranged in response to the tensions with India following violent incidents in the Kashmir region, which is claimed by both countries. But the State Department said the visit had been planned for weeks and was unrelated to that situation.

It said Rice had always planned to stop in Islamabad after two days of high-level talks in Beijing ahead of next month's White House meetings between President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping.