DG ISI Zaheerul Islam met with US special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman and US State Department’s officials in Washington and discussed security situation on Pak-Afghan border among various other issues.
According to the US State Department, trust is being restored between the two countries. It said that they are hopeful for cordial ties with Pakistan.
DG ISI had also met with his counterpart, CIA Chief General David Petraeus previous day.
The US State Department said that the US and Pakistani spy masters held “productive” talks Thursday on ways to work together to fight extremists, in a new sign of easing tensions between the two countries.
Lieutenant General Zaheer ul-Islam, the new chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is paying the first visit to Washington after taking his charge.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the US State Department added that Islam met with Central Intelligence Agency director David Petraeus and held “substantive, professional and productive” talks.
“The talks provided an opportunity to discuss a number of proposals for how we can enhance our joint efforts against terrorism,” the official said.
“Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to work together to counter the terrorist presence in the region that threatens both US and Pakistani national security,” the department said
The official did not go into further detail. The United States has been looking for ways to cooperate with the ISI, whose relationship with US spies has swung from friendly to hostile in recent years.
The remarks echo those of the US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, who on a visit to Pakistan on Thursday praised “significant progress” in improving cooperation between the two countries.
Tensions were on peak between the two intelligence chiefs after US forces secretly penetrated the country and killed the world’s most wanted man Osama bin Laden, who was living in the cantonment area of Abbottabad.
A breakdown of relationship occurred between the two countries after US forces attacked a Pakistan army check-post at Salala in November, 2012, killing 24 soldiers and prompting the country to close supplies to Nato forces in Afghanistan.
Tensions have since eased, with Pakistan reopening the routes after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last month apologized for the deaths. Pakistan on Tuesday signed a deal to keep the border open to convoys until the end of 2015, by which time the United States plans to withdraw most forces.
