ISLAMABAD: The planned visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry to Pakistan has been delayed due to aggravating Syrian crisis, Pakistani officials said on Tuesday.
Kerry was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad in the last week of June for talks with the new Pakistani government on issues including the fight against militants in the country’s northwest and Nato’s exit from Afghanistan, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
However, the US did not make any announcement of Kerry’s trip to Pakistan.
“He was due here in the last week of June. Now his visit is likely in the first half of July,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
“The Syria crisis shot up suddenly, so they had to reschedule the Pakistan visit. But they have conveyed to us that they want to come to Pakistan in early dates of July.”
On Monday, US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that Kerry was “very much looking forward to travelling to Pakistan” but still gave no indication of when such a visit might actually take place.
