Pakistan desires to maintain enduring, multi-domain ties with US: COAS

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that Pakistan desired to maintain a long-term and multi-domain enduring relationship with the United States.

The COAS statement comes after US Charge d’Affairs Angela Aggeler called on him on Friday at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, current security situation in Afghanistan and bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed, the military’s media wing added.

“Pakistan desires to maintain a long-term and multi-domain enduring relationship with the US,” the statement quoted Gen Qamar as saying.

Pakistan remains committed to the Afghan peace process and will continue to work with all stakeholders for a peaceful settlement, reiterated the army chief in the meeting.

Also read: US finds Pakistan useful only to clean up mess in Afghanistan: PM

The US diplomat acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan's continuous support for peace and stability in the region and pledged to further enhance bilateral relations between both the countries, the ISPR communiqué read.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said that Pakistan considered the US a friend and wanted broad-based relations to achieve the shared objective of peace and prosperity in the region and beyond.

The statement came from the spokesperson during the weekly press briefing in Islamabad in which Chaudhri added that Pakistan and the US have a history of close cooperative relations that served the interests of both countries.

"Both the countries have a convergence of views and interests on a number of key issues including the ongoing Afghan peace process," he said. "We both believe that there’s no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan and we both want to see peace in Afghanistan."

The FO spokesperson further said that Pakistan and the US support an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement in Afghanistan through a process that is owned and led by Afghans themselves.