US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Pakistan this month, marking the first high-level contact between the two countries since the new government led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif assumed office last week/

This will also be Kerry's first visit to Islamabad since taking office. Shortly before Sharif was sworn in as premier, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins visited Pakistan for talks with the civilian and military leadership.

"US Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to arrive in the fourth week of this month. Final dates are being worked out," Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry told a weekly news briefing.