- ISPR DG says army chief’s visit to US was mutually agreed upon by both sides in July
- Says Pakistan is committed to Afghan-led reconciliation process
- Says Zarb-i-Azb has significantly improved situation, but Afghanistan must prevent terrorists from escaping
Army Chief General Raheel Sharif will hold talks with Secretary of State John Kerry and Defence Secretary Ashton on strengthening Pakistan-US defense cooperation and efforts towards Afghan peace and regional stability, said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Major General Asim Bajwa ahead of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif’s visit to the US.
“We have a wide-ranging agenda for the meetings,” the ISPR director-general told journalists in Washington.
Bajwa reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to support an Afghan-led reconciliation process.
Sharif will also interact with heads of key Senate and House of Representatives committee leaders on the Capitol Hill and other top Pentagon leaders, including CENTCOM chief, as Pakistan and the United States look to augment cooperation amid changing regional situation.
Bajwa said that the army chief’s visit to the US had been in the works since July and had been scheduled mutually by the two sides.
Responding to a question, Bajwa said Pakistan’s nuclear program is a reality.
On the Afghan reconciliation process, Bajwa said, “Pakistan has always said the process should be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned—we sincerely supported efforts toward that end and we will continue that support – I think there will be definitely more discussion on this – (progress on) this issue will help improve the regional security.”
To the East, he said, settling the Indian border issue is critical to South Asian peace and stability.
AFGHANISTA MUST STOP ‘FLEEING’ TERRORISTS:
Bajwa said that Operation Zarb-i-Azb had “led to a visible improvement in Pakistan’s security and also helped improve Afghan security across the border”.
He urged Afghanistan to implement “strict surveillance” along the Pak-Afghan border to prevent terrorists from “escaping”.
“We had anticipated that terrorists could flee to Afghanistan to avoid operation Zarb-i-Azb,” he said, stressing that Pakistan had always extended full support for peace in Afghanistan, and would continue to do so “with utmost sincerity”.
“We had informed the coalition and Afghan forces before the operation about the possibility of some militants crossing into Afghanistan so they should try to seal the border,” Bajwa said.
General Raheel Sharif’s visit comes weeks after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with US President Barack Obama at the Oval Office to discuss many of the same issues said to be on his army chief’s agenda, including Afghan peace talks and Pakistan’s nuclear ambitions.
Stability in Pakistan’s neighbour Afghanistan has spiralled after a Taliban surge in recent months, and Obama announced in October that Washington will keep thousands of soldiers in the country past 2016.
At the end of his meetings in the United States, Sharif will pay a three-day visit to Brazil. He will also meet Pakistani peacekeeping troops on the Ivory Coast.
Forget backward Afghanistan and attack Kashmir sincerely. I guarantee you atleast 10,000 British Mirpuri youths will be willing to join you. also remove these corrupt politians from Azad Kashmir who are fooling the people of AJK by saying they are in charge of AJK affairs when they are clearly nothing but puppets. we people of AJK love Pak army but hate Pakistans corrupt spineless thieving politicians and don’t want them having anything to do with our land. extorting WAPDA will have its time soon for robbing our people.
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