US Defense Secretary to visit Pakistan on Monday

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will arrive in Pakistan for a day-long visit on Monday amid repeated failed efforts to reduce diplomatic tension between the two allies mainly on Afghanistan.

Mattis will be visiting Pakistan for the first time after his appointment as the Secretary of Defense last year.

He will meet Pakistani premier Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa during his visit to Islamabad, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Analysts suggest the U.S. Defense Secretary is likely to repeat the American demand from Pakistan to take action against the Haqqani network, a militant group the U.S. claims still hiding in the Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border and planning on Afghan and U.S forces.

However, Pakistan denies the charge and itself Kabul of allowing militants to use its soil for attacking Pakistani security forces and civilians.

Before arriving for Pakistan, Mattis will visit Egypt and Jordan before ending his trip by visiting Kuwait.

Last month U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited Pakistan amid escalating diplomatic tension between Washington and Islamabad following President Donald Trump's new policy for South Asia, which accused Pakistan of patronizing militants.