US Centcom chief hails Pakistan’s role for Afghan peace

ISLAMABAD: The outgoing commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), General Lloyd J Austin, paid a farewell call on Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif at the GHQ in Rawalpindi on Sunday.

The American general paid rich tributes to the professionalism and achievements of the Pakistan Army in Operation Zarb-e-Azb. He also acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts for regional stability.

Gen Raheel appreciated Gen Austin’s efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan. The Centcom chief also acknowledged Pakistan’s facilitation role in the Afghan reconciliation process.  He laid a floral wreath at Yadgar-e-Shuhada, the monument built for the martyrs of Pakistani armed forces.

Separately, Pakistan condemned Saturday’s terrorist attacks in Kabul and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan in which many innocent lives were lost. “The government of Pakistan offers sincere condolences to the government of Afghanistan and the bereaved families, and prays for early recovery of those injured,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office. “We reiterate our strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”

In a related development, a soldier of the Afghan National Army (ANA), who was critically injured by terrorists’ firing from the Afghan side of the border, was evacuated to a Pakistani post in the Kitkot area of Bajaur Agency, the director general of ISPR Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, said on microblogging site Twitter.

The ANA soldier, identified as Alam Zeb, was first evacuated to the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Khar after he was given first aid at the Pakistani post. Later the soldier, who had received head injuries, was shifted to the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar on February 26 for specialised treatment.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 29^th,  2016.