The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is set to visit Pakistan soon, amid worsening tensions between Washington and Islamabad after the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil. The trip comes as lawmakers question Pakistan's counterterrorism co-operation and call for cuts in US aid.
Officials said Tuesday that Senator John Kerry will travel to Pakistan and Afghanistan in the coming days in what would be the first such trip by a senior lawmaker since the bin Laden operation. Kerry has been a champion of US aid to Pakistan and the Obama administration has in the past asked him to smooth tensions with Islamabad. Kerry's office would not confirm his travel, citing security reasons. The senator said last week he would visit Afghanistan this weekend.