Islamabad: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived on Wednesday for meetings with Pakistan's top leadership during which the ongoing anti-Taliban offensive and the regional security situation are likely to top the agenda.
Hillary, the senior most US official to visit Pakistan after the country launched a military offensive against Taliban, arrived on a special flight accompanied by US Special representative for Pak, Richard Holbrooke, amidst tight security in the capital.
She is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi this afternoon, and will also meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani later in the day.
Details of her first visit to this country since assuming office were kept under wraps due to security reasons in the wake of a deadly wave of bombings and suicide attacks unleashed by the Taliban.
During her three-day visit she is also expected to meet Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who is presiding over Pakistan's operations against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan led by Hakimullah Mehsud.
On Friday, Clinton will meet elders and leaders from Pakistan's northwest and the tribal belt, which is the centre of a massive confrontation between the army and the militants. The powerful armed forces leadership may take up its concerns about conditions attached to US military aid for Pakistan during the visit.
The military and political leadership could also take up the issue of speedy reimbursement of Pakistan's expenses for the war on terror and the need for sophisticated equipment and weapons for the campaign against the Taliban, sources told
US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has described Clinton's visit to Islamabad as the most important trip she will be undertaking since she became Secretary of State.
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