Clinton to visit Islamabad for ‘most vital’ security talks: Holbrooke

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would hold ‘most vital’ high-level security talks in Islamabad before landing in Kabul for the donors conference scheduled to be held on July 20, America’s special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has said.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Holbrooke said Clinton is likely to meet several top officials besides holding talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi during her stop over in Islamabad.

“During her upcoming visit to Pakistan, Secretary Clinton will reconvene the Strategic Dialogue with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to assess growing cooperation on topics ranging from energy and water, to education and health, to counter-terrorism and defense issues,” The News quoted Holbrooke, as saying.

“She will also meet with a range of senior Pakistani officials to encourage closer collaboration in areas of mutual interest,” he added.

Earlier, the State Department had announced that Clinton would attend a donors’ conference in Kabul as part of the largest gathering of foreign leaders in the war-torn country.

During the July 20-21 conference, the world leaders would assess Afghanistan’s follow-up plans to improve security, governance and other issues, paving the way for the US to remove some troops from the country by next year. (ANI)