United States Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca will hold talks with the Pakistani leadership this week.

The Indo-Pak peace process and deteriorating Pak-Afghan ties following the resurgence of Taliban are expected to figure in the talks.

The visit assumes significance in the light of the recent meeting Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has with US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell on the sidelines of UN General Assembly in New York.

Armitage has visited Islamabad twice during the past one year to prevent escalation of India-Pak hostilities on the issue of cross-border terrorism.

While his first visit early last year resulted in Musharraf banning the militant outfits, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, his second visit in April this year led to the military ruler announcing there were no training camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir and they would be 'dismantled the next day if there were any'.