RAWALPINDI: Former Pakistan Army chief General (r) Raheel Sharif, who now heads a 41-nation Saudi-led military coalition, called on Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Monday, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said.
According to the army’s media cell, matters related to regional stability and peace were discussed in the meeting. The army chief also lauded the efforts by the Islamic military coalition for enduring peace, added the ISPR.
A delegation of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition led by Gen (r) Raheel Sharif arrived in Islamabad late Sunday. This is the maiden visit of the delegates of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition to Pakistan. During their two-day visit, the delegates of the Islamic military coalition will meet the top civil and military leadership. Former army chief General (r) Raheel Sharif is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Imran Khan. The delegation will also meet Senate chairman and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Reportedly, the focus of the delegates’ meetings with top civil and military leadership will be on the regional situation as well as counter-terrorism measures taken by the coalition. The delegation is also expected to discuss the upcoming visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman to Pakistan.
According to a media report, the prince’s exercise equipment, furniture and other personal belongings have reached Islamabad, while his security team and Saudi media representatives have also arrived in the capital ahead of his two-day visit.
Gen (r) Raheel Sharif was made the chief of the 41-nation Islamic military coalition formed to combat terrorism in 2017.
The coalition was initially proposed as a platform for security cooperation among Muslim countries and included provisions for training, equipment and troops, and the involvement of religious scholars for devising a counter-terrorism narrative.
Raheel Sharif’s appointment as the commander-in-chief of the Saudi-led alliance had sparked a debate over how the move will impact Pakistan’s foreign policy, and whether it was fully sanctioned by the parliament.
