No senior US official present to welcome Imran Khan on maiden visit; Shah Mahmood Qureshi receives Pakistan PM

On his maiden visit to the United States, where Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan will hold talks with president Donald Trump on Monday, the former was not accorded an official welcome as required for heads of states. Imran, who was accompanied by foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood and commerce advisor Abdul Razzak, was received by Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. The highest-ranking US official present at the airport was reportedly a protocol officer, according to News18. Imran reached Washington DC on board a Qatar Airways flight and will be hosted by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader is on a three-day visit to the United States, which began on Saturday. The talks between the Pakistan and US counterparts will reportedly aim to mend bilateral ties between the two nations which were impacted after US president Donald Trump criticised Islamabad over its failure to deal with terror activities. He will also be meeting IMF acting chief David Lipton, World Bank president David Malpass and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Imran will also address the Pakistani American community on 21 July and speak at the US Institute of Peace on 23 July. [caption id=“attachment_7030251” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistani American businessman Tahir Javed calls upon Imran Khan in Washington DC. Image courtesy: Twitter/@PTIofficial[/caption] On the day that Imran landed in Washington DC, Baloch groups started a mobile billboard campaign appealing to Trump to help end “enforced disappearances in Pakistan”. A bipartisan group of 10 influential American lawmakers asked Trump to raise the issue of human rights. Hours before Imran’s arrival in the US, Pakistan hired the services of lobbying firm Holland & Knight which will be led by former Republican Congressman Tom Reynolds, according to Times Now. Reynolds will lead a team comprising other former members of Congress, former senior Administration officials, Capitol Hill veterans and other professional experts to lobby in the US on behalf of the Pakistani government. With inputs from agencies