US envoy Alice Wells to arrive in Pakistan on 4-day visit

United States Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells is set to arrive here on Sunday for a four-day visit centred around talks on Afghanistan, Middle East tension and other bilateral issues.

Sources told Dawn News that during her visit, Wells is expected to meet various government representatives and military officials. The diplomat will complete her visit on January 22.

She will also speak at a think tank and engage with members of civil society on what the US State Department calls "issues of bilateral and regional concern".

Although Wells' visit comes immediately after Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's trip to Washington, her trip had been previously planned.

According to a diplomatic source, Wells is expected to follow up on Qureshi's discussions in Washington where he met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser Robert O' Brien, and Under Secretary of Defence John Rood.

Qureshi has recently concluded a three-day trip to the United States -- the last leg of his mission to defuse tensions in the Middle East -- after having already visited Tehran and Riyadh as part of Pakistan's diplomatic efforts to ease tensions in the region.