U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told Pakistani officials on Tuesday that Washington wants closer ties with the Muslim nation, officials said. Armitage, the first senior American official to visit the South Asian country since last week's U.S. presidential election, held talks with President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and other officials on counter terrorism, efforts to rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq, and Pakistan's relations with India, the Foreign Ministry said. Armitage, who arrived Monday for a two-day visit, told the Pakistani officials that America "would not only maintain continuity in its policy toward Pakistan" but was looking at speeding their interaction, a ministry official told The Associated Press. A ministry statement said Armitage also briefed Pakistani officials about the U.S. assessment of emerging trends in the Middle East and the security situation in Iraq. Armitage also met with Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri and was to hold talks later Tuesday with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Earlier, Riaz Khokhar, the top bureaucrat in the Foreign Ministry, briefed Armitage on progress in the peace dialogue between India and Pakistan. Armitage expressed satisfaction over efforts by the traditional rivals to improve ties, the ministry statement said. Armitage was accompanied by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca.
