US State Dept expresses ignorance about reports of PM Imran Khan visit to US

WASHINGTON (92 News) - The United States Department of State Wednesday expressed ignorance about the reports of Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to US, saying the White House has not yet confirmed it. US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus told a press briefing that she would reach to the White House to confirm or not the visit of the Pakistan's premier. “To my knowledge, that has actually not been confirmed by the White House. I know that I have read the same reports that you have, but I would reach out to the White House to confirm or not confirm that visit, but that’s — we don’t have anything to announce here from the State Department,” Ortagus said. On the other hand, Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari addressing a gathering of Pakistani community in Washington said PM Imran Khan would reach US on July 20. He said the US authorities would announce the visit after fulfilling all official formalities. “The objective of the premier’s visit is to engage overseas Pakistanis in the national affairs. We are making efforts to promote businesses and investments in Pakistan.” https://twitter.com/ForeignOfficePk/status/1148847097388654592 Foreign office spokesman Dr Mohammad Faisal issued his statement, saying the formal announcement for the PM's US visit would be made at appropriate time. He advised to avoid speculations for the visit as Pakistan and US had been enjoying close relations. The spokesman in his previous press briefing had clearly mentioned the high-level meeting on July 22. Last week, reports of a meeting between PM Imran and the US president in July had surfaced. Imran Khan is expected to meet President Trump and other officials during his visit to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, regional issues and the Afghan peace process. In September, the premier will travel to New York to represent Pakistan at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He will address the 74th UNGA session for the first time since he assumed office in August 2018.