ISLAMABAD, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani officials say U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells arrived here Monday on a scheduled visit.
"Her third visit since last August, it is part of the regular engagement between the two countries to find common ground on shared objectives of peace and stability in the region," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Muhammad Faisal said on Twitter.
Alice Wells met Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua at the foreign ministry and discussed bilateral matters, he said.
This is the first visit by a senior U.S. diplomat after the Jan. 1 tweet by U.S. President Donald Trump in which he had leveled serious charges against Pakistan including the allegation that the country supports the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network.
Days after the controversial tweet, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced that Washington would withhold 255 million U.S. dollars in assistance to Pakistan from the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) fund, which is used to provide military equipment and training to friendly countries.
In an apparent tit-for-tat reaction, Pakistani Defense Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan announced last week that Pakistan has suspended defense and intelligence cooperation with the United States amid growing tensions over the U.S. suspension of military aid to Pakistan.
Alice Wells is likely to explore ways in meetings in Islamabad to reduce the tension.
