ISLAMABAD
\nAn American delegation led by US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Elizabeth Horst has reached Islamabad on a four-day visit.
\nIt is the third visit by the American officials in the current month of December.
\nAccording to sources, Pakistan will raise issues of proscribed organizations operating from Afghanistan, their safe havens and terrorist lists with US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Horst during her visit which will conclude on December 12.
\nThe US official will meet caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani during her visit.
\nDuring her meetings with the Pakistani officials, Ms Horst will hold talks on improving Pak-US ties and promoting mutual cooperation.
\nShe will exchange views on situation in Afghanistan, Afghan refugees and regional security.
\nPakistan has evicted thousands of Afghan nationals staying illegally in the country.
\nAs per reports, 25,000 Afghan nationals waiting for the completion of their resettlement process in America are also residing in Pakistan.
\nThese Afghan nationals used to work for the American military or government, international organizations and aid agencies, as well as media and human rights groups. They escaped the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 to Pakistan and are waiting to be processed to relocate to the US.
\nThe sources said that US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West left for Doha late last night.
\nWest met with Foreign Minister Jilani and Pakistan\u2019s Special Representative on Afghanistan Asif Durrani.
\nThe sources said that West also met with officials of UNHCR, IOM and other international partners during his visit.
\nEarlier, US Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration Juliet Wallace Noyes visited Pakistan this month.
\nCommenting on the US officials\u2019 visit to Pakistan, Foreign Office\u2019s Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on December 4 that the upcoming visit of the US officials was part of the routine.
\n\u201cPakistan and the US have been partners for a long time. We hold dialogues with the US on the economy, education, climate change, defence, and security.\u201d
\nShe was responding to a question regarding the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West leading a delegation to Pakistan for a meeting with top-level officials in December.
\nThe sources disclosed later that the discussion focused on the issue of 25,000 Afghan refugees currently living in Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD An American delegation led by US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Elizabeth Horst has reached Islamabad on a four-day visit. It is the third visit by the American officials in the current month of December. According to sources, Pakistan will raise issues of proscribed organizations operating from Afghanistan, their safe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-373378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n