Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and US Central Command (Centcom) chief, General Michael Erik Kurilla, Monday discussed the regional security situation.
According to the details by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the development came during the top US military official’s meeting with COAS Munir at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Gen Kurilla acknowledged and appreciated Pakistan Army’s successes in the fight against terrorism and Pakistan’s continued efforts to bring peace and stability to the region.
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Apart from the regional security situation, matters of mutual interest and defense cooperation were discussed, the military’s media wing mentioned.
“Both reiterated the desire to further enhance bilateral relations in all fields,” the ISPR said.
General Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander United States (US) CENTCOM, called on General Syed Asim Munir, COAS.
During the meeting matters of mutual interest, regional security situation and defence cooperation were discussed. pic.twitter.com/D1cMycv6pU— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) July 24, 2023
The meeting comes days after both countries called on the interim Afghan government to prevent their soil from being used as a safe haven for terrorist attacks.
In a press briefing last week, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said the Afghan Taliban administration bore the responsibility to control terror activities originating from their territory.
“I will say we have made very clear that we believe the Taliban has the responsibility to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a safe haven for launching terrorist attacks,” he said in response to a question.
The statement came after the Pakistan Army blamed Kabul for the uptick in militancy, saying that “safe havens and liberty of action”, along with the latest weapons available to militants from Afghanistan enabled them to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Read more: How to address the menace of terrorism in Pakistan
Pakistan is once again facing an uptick in terror attacks. Last week, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa faced four terror attacks that too in the span of 48 hours. The province has seen a surge in terrorist attacks — from improvised explosive device blasts to suicide bombings — since late last year when the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) ended its ceasefire with Islamabad.