NATO commander Petraeus meets Pakistani army chief
'Discuss various topics of mutual interest and ways to improve regional security': US Embassy.
ISLAMABAD:
General David Petraeus, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, visited Pakistan for security talks with its army chief on Thursday amid high tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
"They discussed various topics of mutual interest and ways to improve regional security," the US embassy said in a statement after Petraeus met his Pakistani counterpart General Ashfaq Kayani.
The talks came after Washington decided to withhold a third of its annual $2.7 billion security assistance to Islamabad after dozens of American military trainers were ordered to leave after a May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
The cuts of $800 million reportedly include about $300 million used to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border, a hotbed of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Pakistan has been adamant that there should be no more unilateral American raids, like that which killed Bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad, although the White House has said it will act again if necessary.
Petraeus also met with US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and received updates on the security assistance mission to Pakistan, the embassy said.
Accompanying General Petraeus was Marine Lieutenant General John Allen who will succeed him as commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.
General David Petraeus, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, visited Pakistan for security talks with its army chief on Thursday amid high tensions between Washington and Islamabad.
"They discussed various topics of mutual interest and ways to improve regional security," the US embassy said in a statement after Petraeus met his Pakistani counterpart General Ashfaq Kayani.
The talks came after Washington decided to withhold a third of its annual $2.7 billion security assistance to Islamabad after dozens of American military trainers were ordered to leave after a May 2 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
The cuts of $800 million reportedly include about $300 million used to reimburse Pakistan for the cost of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border, a hotbed of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.
Pakistan has been adamant that there should be no more unilateral American raids, like that which killed Bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad, although the White House has said it will act again if necessary.
Petraeus also met with US ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter and received updates on the security assistance mission to Pakistan, the embassy said.
Accompanying General Petraeus was Marine Lieutenant General John Allen who will succeed him as commander of the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.