Clinton arrives in Pakistan for talks « kimmerlef

ISLAMABAD - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Pakistan Sunday for strategic talks aimed at bolstering bilateral ties and securing firmer support for the war in Afghanistan.

Clinton arrived by plane in Islamabad before noon (0700 GMT), according to an AFP reporter travelling with her, ahead of expected talks with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari in the evening.

On Monday the Secretary of State is due to hold a day of meetings with high-level political, military and business figures to further a "strategic dialogue" aimed at chipping away at anti-American sentiment in Pakistan.

The visit comes ahead of Clinton's trip to Afghanistan on Tuesday for a major international donor conference, and as Washington continues to push Islamabad for further steps to rid its western border of Islamist militants.

The United States has long voiced concern that elements of Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence service were supporting Taliban insurgents, despite the government's public anti-terror stance.

But besides the war on Pakistan's border, talks in the capital are expected to focus on areas of socio-economic cooperation including health, water, agriculture, information technology, energy and private sectors.

President Barack Obama's administration has promised to engage more deeply with Pakistan, which has long seen Washington as interested only in securing its military cooperation in the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The US Congress last year approved a five-year, 7.5 billion-dollar aid package for Pakistan, hoping to win support from the South Asian nuclear power by building schools, infrastructure and democratic institutions.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will meet with the US Secretary of State on Monday to reconvene the strategic dialogue started during his visit to Washington in March.

Since March, 13 working groups covering topics ranging from development to defence, have been set up to find areas for possible cooperation, and their progress will be reviewed by Clinton and Qureshi on Monday.

In a statement from his ministry, Qureshi said the new visit "would help give further impetus to the Pakistan-US partnership".

He appreciated "the US engagement in several socio-economic development projects of immense value across Pakistan, which would accrue direct benefit to the people of Pakistan," the ministry statement said.

Clinton lauded talks in March as a "new day" for relations between the United States and Pakistan, which floundered in the wake of the Cold War as the Western superpower distanced itself until the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Pakistan and the United States had been allies throughout the Cold War years as both helped arm Islamic insurgents who ousted Soviet troops from Afghanistan in 1989.

"We had a long tradition of being in Pakistan providing assistance, then leaving and then coming back," said Rajiv Shah, administrator of US international aid agency, USAID.

"We've made a very clear commitment that we are there for the long term in terms of civilian assistance... our commitment is broad and deep, we won't do what we did in the past," said the aid official travelling with Clinton.

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Clinton arrives in Pakistan for talks

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