Islamabad, Sept 29: The Indo-Pak peace process and deteriorating Pak-Afghan ties following resurgence of Taliban will figure in the talks US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca will hold with the Pakistani leadership this week. Armitage and Rocca were expected to arrive here later this week, a media report quoting Pakistan officials here said.
The two would be arriving virtually days after President Pervez Musharraf's meetings with US President George W Bush and US Secretary of State Colin Powell last week on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York. Armitage and Rocca's visit to Islamabad may focus on relations between India and Pakistan. After the highs of stabling road links and exchange of parliamentary delegations, which attracted large public participation on both sides, the ties showed signs of deterioration specially after strong speeches delivered by Musharraf and Vajpayee at last week's UN General Assembly.
Armitage, the wrestler-turned diplomat has visited Islamabad twice during the past one year to prevent escalation of India-Pak hostilities on the issue of cross border terrorism. While his first visit early last year resulted in Musharraf banning the militant outfits, Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba, his second visit in April this year led to the military ruler announcing that there were no training camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and they would be dismantled the next day if there were any. Bureau Report