US Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott was meeting with Pakistan foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed over lunch in what could be counted as the sixth round of talks between principle interlocutors of the two sides.A state department spokesman said the two would be discussing non-proliferation issues besides terrorism, narcotics, Afghanistan and the economic woes facing Pakistan. ``There won't be any dramatic breakthroughs but they will be setting the stage for the visit here of Prime Minister Sharif,'' one official said.Sharif is slated to arrive in Washington on November 30 and meet President Clinton on December 2 amid speculation that Pakistan will agree to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Islamabad has announced that it is delinking its standon CTBT from India's, but like New Delhi it is also looking for some concessions and conciliatory gestures from Washington before moving ahead.In particular, Pakistan is gasping for aid from the IMF to avoid defaulting on its international loan obligations. The US is in a position to facilitate this aid and latest reports indicate that Washington will support a bail-out package for Pakistan.As things stand, the broad road map appears to be that following the announcement of an IMF bail-out, Prime Minister Sharif will commit explicitly to signing the CTBT, after which President Clinton will announce the lifting of other punitive financial sanctions.

Such a formula would meet expectations from both sides for the moment.President Clinton was recently armed with powers to waive sanctions for one year and his hands have been strengthened further with the unexpected electoral let off on Tuesday. The development may provide fresh impetus to initiatives on the non-proliferation front, especially since the WhiteHouse's success in bringing about a deal between the Israelis and Palestinians was seen to add sheen to the President's record.Pakistani mandarins are also expected to brief US officials about talks with India and what they feel is New Delhi's rigid position on Kashmir.Talbott is expected to meet Indian special envoy Jaswant Singh in Rome on November 19 for a further round of talks.