Marc Grossman meets Pakistani FM

Marc Grossman , the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, met separately here on Thursday with each of Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani. Talks during the two separate meetings dealt with bilateral relations and the newest regional and international updates of joint interest. The visit is the first ever by Marc Grossman to Islamabad since the US air srike to the Pakistani military positions last November and which claimed 24 soldiers and made bilateral relations more tense. Earlier today Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani chaired a meeting of Pakistan’s top civil and military leadership ahead of the resumption of a trilateral initiative with Afghanistan and the US to boost the Afghan peace and reconciliation process. The meeting , attended by army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, ISI chief Lt Gen Zahir-ul-Islam, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Interior Minister Rehman Malik, took stock of recent developments in the region, discussed “matters related to Afghan peace and reconciliation and new terms of re-engagement with the US, NATO (and) ISAF in accordance with recommendations of the parliament”, ” said a statement from the premier’s office. Pakistan-Afghanistan relations were hit after Afghan officials said last year that elements in Pakistan were behind the assassination of Rabbani. The two countries also exchanged charges over a string of attacks on Pakistani border posts by Taliban fighters based in Afghan territory. The NATO air strike effectively halted cooperation between Pakistan and the US in efforts to find a solution to the problems in Afghanistan. Pakistan closed all routes used to ferry supplies to US and foreign troops in Afghanistan and forced American personnel to vacate an airbase that was considered a hub for CIA-operated drones.