Islamabad, July 9 (ANI): Pakistan and the United States are likely to resume their stalled 'strategic dialogue' in a bid to dispel the widely-held perception that the relationship between the two countries is only confined to security related matters.
A Foreign Office official confirmed that the two sides were discussing the possibility of reviving the talks, as the relationship appears to be gradually improving after the resumption of the NATO supplies, reports The Express Tribune.
The official, however, did not give a timeframe.
According to sources, the two countries are mulling revising the number of agenda items being discussed under the banner of the so-called 'strategic dialogue' in an effort to make it more result-oriented.
The strategic dialogue, which covers a wide range of issues from Pakistan's energy needs to health and education sector woes, was initiated by the Obama administration as part of its efforts to allay Pakistani fears that the U.S. might repeat the mistake of the 1980s when it left Islamabad isolated after driving out the former Soviet Union from Afghanistan.
The last round of talks was held in October 2010 in Washington. The dialogue was supposed to take place in March last year but was delayed because of a controversy over the killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor.
The two sides, however, agreed to resume the process in May. But talks were delayed yet again and never resumed to date following the secret operation by U.S. commandos to hunt down Al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden in his Abbottabad compound in Pakistan. (ANI)
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