U.S. Envoy Arrives in Islamabad for Talks with Officials

U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman arrived in Islamabad on Saturday for talks with political and military leaders on "issues of bilateral and mutual concern", officials said.

Pakistani and U.S. officials were tight-lipped about the discussions that Grossman will have with officials, but the visit takes place amid growing opposition in the country to continued U.S. drone strikes.

"It is a bilateral visit. Mr Grossman will hold talks with political and military leaders and discuss all matters of mutual interests," U.S. embassy spokeswoman Rian Harris told Agence France Presse, without giving further details.

Foreign ministry spokesman Moazzam Ahmad Khan had told reporters last week "the visit is part of the ongoing engagements", which will enable the two sides to "discuss all issues of mutual interest as well as concern".

The attacks by unmanned U.S. aircraft remain contentious and are deeply unpopular in Pakistan.

U.S. officials say the drone strikes are a key weapon in the war on terror but peace campaigners condemn them as a breach of international law.

Pakistanis call them a violation of sovereignty that breeds extremism, and politicians, including Khan, say the government is complicit in killing its own people.