US President Barack Obama will not make a halt in Pakistan during his 10-day visit to India and East and Southeast Asia next month, the White House announced late on Wednesday.
The President made it clear to a high-level Pakistani delegation, which included foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, that he was “committed to visiting Pakistan in 2011” as well as welcoming Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in the US capital before that. The delegation was in Washington to take part in the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue. This announcement scotches speculation that Mr Obama might stop over in Islamabad before reaching New Delhi.