General Asim Munir in UK on five-day official visit

LONDON: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir has reached the United Kingdom on a highly important visit on Britain’s Ministry of Defence invitation to discuss security-related strategic issues.

Sources told Geo and The News that General Munir would be visiting the UK officially for five days, starting from Monday. The senior military commanders will accompany him during the visit.

They landed in the UK late on Saturday night.

The visit is seen as highly important in view of the rising issue of Taliban militancy and the situation in the South Asian region. This is General Asim Munir’s first visit to the UK after taking over as Pakistan’s Army chief at the end of November last year.

A security source said that both the countries are attaching huge importance to the visit. The army chief will address the 5th joint UK-Pakistan Stabilisation Conference at Wilton Park between February 5-8.

Wilton Park is an executive agency created by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office to foster open dialogue between governments.

Co-hosted by UK Army Chief General Sir Patrick Sanders, the conference is themed “Regional Stability in South Asia: the return of geopolitics and other challenges.”

The conference will also focus on the Ukraine war’s impact on the EU, UK, and its consideration for Pakistan.

The COAS will visit the headquarters of the British military and address senior military commanders, including the UK Army chief. According to the source, Gen Munir will also address a security think-tank towards the end of his visit.