US looks forward to partnership with Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday once again underscored that it looks forward to continuing to partner with Pakistan on regional security and defence cooperation.

The News reached out to the US Department of State to confirm if the Chief of Army Staff, Gen Asim Munir, had a meeting with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. 

A spokesperson of the State Department, without confirming if such a meeting took place, stated that Pakistan was an important partner and “we engage with a wide range of interlocutors within the Pakistani government.”

Pakistan’s army chief has been on his first official visit to the US, where he met US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday. The brief readout released by the Pentagon stated that the two officials “discussed recent regional security developments and potential areas for bilateral defense cooperation.”

Earlier, the ISPR had issued a statement saying that the army chief was to hold meetings with senior US officials.

Though no names or designations of American officials were mentioned in the note, some officials familiar with the army chief’s trip details had hinted that he would be meeting with the US Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor and US Secretary of State.