Pakistani, U.S. officials hold talks amid curbs on diplomats

ISLAMABAD, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Senior Pakistani and U.S. diplomats held talks here on Monday amid tensions over tit-for-tat travel restrictions on each other's diplomats, officials said.

Pakistan confirmed on April 19 that the United States is expected to impose restrictions on the movement of Pakistani diplomats and consular staff in Washington from May 1.

Earlier, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon said in Washington that the Trump administration will place curbs on Pakistani diplomats because Islamabad had already imposed similar restrictions on U.S. diplomats in Pakistan.

Visiting U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells met Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua on bilateral and regional issues that also focus on peace and security in Afghanistan.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal confirmed the meeting on his Twitter but offered no more comments.

This is Wells' second visit in less than a month. She paid a week-long visit to Pakistan late last month after she attended an international conference on Afghanistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on March 26-27.

Pakistan and the United States announced restrictions on diplomats after a U.S. Embassy vehicle driven by Colonel Joseph Emanual Hall, defense and air attache of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, killed a Pakistani motorcyclist in Islamabad on April 7.

A police report said another bike rider, who was injured in the same accident, informed the investigators that the U.S. diplomat had violated signals on the 7th Avenue-Margalla Road junction.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the government awaits the outcome of preliminary investigations from Islamabad Police, based on which further actions would be initiated against the U.S. diplomat. Enditem