Planning ahead: US Central Command chief meets Gen Raheel
Visit focused on security in Afghanistan ahead of Nato troops’ withdrawal.
Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
A top US commander held talks on Thursday with Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on key regional issues including the current situation in Afghanistan at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Commander of the US Central Command General Lloyd J. Austin’s visit was part of ongoing consultations between the two countries on post-2014 Afghanistan, officials said here.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), General Austin and General Raheel discussed ‘matters of mutual interest with special emphasis on regional security’. This was General Austin’s third visit to Pakistan as CENTCOM commander. The two generals reaffirmed the importance of the US-Pakistani security relationship to regional stability and agreed to continue to work together in order to build a stronger partnership and further common objectives.
Austin’s trip follows a visit by US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan James Dobbins wherein both sides decided to make efforts to revive the Afghan reconciliation effort once the new government is installed there as a result of presidential elections. Pakistan is considered crucial not only to future political dispensation but also to ensure the smooth withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of US-led Nato forces from Afghanistan by the end of this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2014.
A top US commander held talks on Thursday with Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on key regional issues including the current situation in Afghanistan at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. Commander of the US Central Command General Lloyd J. Austin’s visit was part of ongoing consultations between the two countries on post-2014 Afghanistan, officials said here.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), General Austin and General Raheel discussed ‘matters of mutual interest with special emphasis on regional security’. This was General Austin’s third visit to Pakistan as CENTCOM commander. The two generals reaffirmed the importance of the US-Pakistani security relationship to regional stability and agreed to continue to work together in order to build a stronger partnership and further common objectives.
Austin’s trip follows a visit by US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan James Dobbins wherein both sides decided to make efforts to revive the Afghan reconciliation effort once the new government is installed there as a result of presidential elections. Pakistan is considered crucial not only to future political dispensation but also to ensure the smooth withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of US-led Nato forces from Afghanistan by the end of this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 2nd, 2014.