Gen Qamar sees stronger Pak-US ties under Biden administration

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has expressed hope that Pakistan’s relations with the United States will be further strengthened under the new administration, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with Acting Charge d’ Affaires Lesslie Viguerie, who called on him at the military’s headquarters in Rawalpindi on Friday.

The meeting comes two days after Democrat Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.

Matters of mutual interest including regional security situation were discussed during the meeting, the statement said.

“While discussing cooperation in various domains, COAS hoped that Pak-US bilateral relations will be further strengthened under new [US] Administration,” said the military’s media wing.

Read more: Pakistan hopes for revival of ‘high-level’ dialogue with US under Biden

The US diplomat appreciated Pakistan's contributions for conflict prevention in the region and relentless support provided in the Afghan peace process.

The envoy also assured the army chief of America’s continued assistance for the common cause of peace in Afghanistan, the communiqué concluded.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister's Special Assistant on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf had said that Pakistan wanted to pursue a bilateral relationship with the US which was not hyphenated or clouded by US interests in other regional countries but based on mutual understanding.

“In the past, Pakistan was unfortunately seen by Afghanistan prism,” he said while emphasising that the world had undergone immense transformation in the past four years and the new administration should look beyond Obama-era conversation to build a truly bilateral relationship with Pakistan.