Pak PM Sharif's special envoy still hopeful to meet Trump team

Washington [United States], Dec. 11 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's special assistant on foreign affairs (SAPM), Tariq Fatemi is hopeful of meeting some of the members of incoming Trump administration early next week. Fatemi is in U.S. to have discussions with the current U.S. administration and to meet the officials who are likely to join Trump administration. Fatemi has held talks with senior officials of the outgoing Obama administration and US lawmakers which has helped to create a better understanding of Pakistan's position on various issues, reports the Dawn. State Department's deputy spokesman Mark Toner said that US officials did discuss "a range of bilateral and regional" issues with Fatemi and these included "regional stability and counterterrorism cooperation". However, Toner did not tell about the outcome of these meetings. There have been no comments by the Pakistan embassy or the Trump team on Fatemi's expected meetings with the officials of the incoming administration. Pakistani diplomats said that Fatemi was in New York earlier this week to meet senior UN officials and had returned to Washington the same day. A senior Pakistani diplomat said Fatemi and the Pakistan embassy were trying to arrange some informal meetings as protocol did not allow him to meet members of the Trump team in his official capacity. Fatemi might meet the former Bush administration's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, who is a key member of the team that is advising Mr Trump on transition, next week. "Fatemi has also been "very active on telephone," speaking to the Trump team. "We are reaching out to the 'influentials' not 'probables," said an embassy official. "We are trying to meet the people who have influence and are feeding into the transition process," he added. (ANI)