Pak-US to rebuild relations: Shah Mehmood

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the United States and Pakistan will soon be ramping up bilateral engagements and renewing ties.

"There are indications of opening up. We must remember that the bilateral ties had come to an impasse", Dawn quoted Qureshi as saying during an interaction with the media at the Foreign Office on Tuesday.

His comments come in the wake of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Alice Wells' visit to the country.

Wells held a meeting with Finance Minister Asad Umar, while also engaging in bilateral talks with officials from Pakistan's Interior and Defence ministries at the Foreign Office.

Qureshi said that Wells' meeting with the officials was fruitful, adding that US officials would soon visit Pakistan to further trade and energy cooperation between the two countries.

The foreign minister further stated that while Afghanistan continues to remain a subject of the issue, the bilateral facets of US-Pakistan relations were slowly returning to the fore.

The Foreign Office also issued a statement, confirming the intent of both Qureshi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to rebuild their relations through trust and respect. The statement added that Pakistan stressed the need to boost trade and economic cooperation and people-to-people contacts.

"The two sides agreed to continue efforts to promote the shared objectives of peace and stability in the region and diversify bilateral relationship," the statement read.