ISLAMABAD: A top US diplomat was in Pakistan for talks on Wednesday designed to help reset the troubled alliance but likely to be overshadowed by a US bounty on a Pakistani wanted over the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Washington billed the visit by Deputy Secretary of State Tom Nides as the next step in re-engagement after the two countries' relationship suffered badly over US air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
Nides was due to hold talks with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh. A United States official said joint statements would be issued but that no press conference was scheduled.
The US official declined to comment on the precise agenda of Wednesday's talks. Asked about the timing of the bounty, he said: "It could be perceived as being unfortunate" but said it was the culmination of a process lasting months. (AFP)