By Xinhua,
Islamabad : British Foreign Secretary David Miliband held talks with Pakistani government officials in northwest of Pakistan on security matters in the troubled tribal areas, according to local officials.
It is Miliband’s first visit to Pakistan after the formation of the new government following Feb. 18 elections.
Miliband, who arrived in Peshawar, the capital city of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), on the first day of his two-day visit, held talks on Sunday with Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani and Chief Minister Haider Hoti, the officials said.
“They discussed war on terror and the government policy to hold dialogue with the militants,” official sources said.
The new government in NWFP said that it will hold dialogue with the militants in Pakistan’s tribal regions for peace.
The provincial government has also set up a committee of top officials to prepare for negotiations with militants the troubled tribal regions.
Western governments have expressed reservations over the policy of the new government for holding the dialogue with the militants.
Miliband will also meet with Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and will hold talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Monday, spokesman for the British High Commission Aidan Liddle said.
The issue of Pakistan’s re-entry into the commonwealth will also be under discussions, the sources said.
Commonwealth suspended Pakistan’s membership after Musharraf proclaimed emergency in November last year.
The British foreign secretary said earlier this month that as democracy was restored in Pakistan after credible elections, Britain would work towards calling an early meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) to end Pakistan’s suspension from the Councils of Commonwealth.