US envoy visits Peshawar

US Ambassador Richard Olson today visited this restive northwest Pakistani city for a series of meetings with officials and business and religious leaders.
His visit came against the backdrop of a blockade of NATO supply routes to Afghanistan running through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which is ruled by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party.
The Tehrik-e-Insaf blocked the routes to protest a recent US drone attack in the province.
Olson met Governor Shaukatullah Khan and took part in the dedication ceremony for Peshawar's Southern Ring Road, said a statement from the US Embassy.
The project replaced a worn-out pavement road with a higher quality surface road and expanded it from two to three lanes in both directions.

The refurbished road will reduce congestion in Peshawar and serve as the primary link between Pakistan and Afghanistan, improving commercial traffic between Peshawar and southern Pakistan.

Olson also met representatives of three chambers of commerce and industry to discuss trade and economic development.
At other events, he met Pakistani alumni of exchange programmes to the US and religious leaders to discuss people-to-people contacts and efforts to promote peace and tolerance.
Olson took part in a roundtable with media representatives, the statement said.
Since October 2009, the US has provided over USD 1.5 billion in aid to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.