Chief of
Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif and CIA chief John Brennan met on Monday and
discussed security challenges facing the region and the way forward to confront
these, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Gen
Raheel visited the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters in Langley,
Virginia, where he held a meeting with the CIA chief.
During
the meeting, the COAS specifically highlighted the need for permanent stability
in the region, ISPR spokesman Director-General ISPR Lt-Gen Asim Bajwa said in a
series of tweets.
The army
chief stressed the need for a conducive environment in the region for
re-initiating an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process,
Bajwa tweeted.
The CIA
chief discussed with Gen Raheel the opportunities presented for the future of
an enduring regional peace and praised Pakistan’s efforts for the Afghan
reconciliation process, said Lt-Gen Bajwa.
Brennan
acknowledged the accomplishments of Zarb-i-Azab and its positive impact on the
security calculus, he said.
The COAS
is in the United States on a five-day visit, in a trip analysts have said will
underscore security issues facing Islamabad and Washington in the region as
well as the dynamics relating to civilian-military ties within Pakistan.
The US
Department of Defence said on Monday Washington was grateful that the COAS was
visiting theUS for consultations on bilateral issues.
The
visit comes weeks after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with US President
Barack Obama at the Oval Office to discuss many of the same issues said to be
on his army chief’s agenda, including Afghan peace talks and Pakistan’s nuclear
ambitions.
The US
Department of Defence said on Monday they were grateful that the Pakistan army
chief was visiting the United States for consultations on bilateral issues.
“We
are grateful that COAS Raheel (Sharif) is taking time to hold consultations in
person. The Secretary, the Deputy Secretary and the Chairman welcome the COAS
and look forward to productive discussions related to our bilateral defence
relationship,” a US defence official said.
At the
Pentagon, the army chief will meet Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter, Chairman
Joint Chief of Staff Gen Joseph Dunford and Centcom chief on Tuesday, the
official added.
A State
Department official confirmed that the COAS would meet Secretary of State John
Kerry at the State Department later this week. Mr Kerry returns to Washington
on Tuesday from a week-long visit toTurkey and Europe.
According
to a report broadcast by the official Voice of America radio, Gen Sharif might
also meet Vice President Joe Biden when he goes to the White House for a
meeting with National Security Adviser Susan Rice.
Gen
Sharif will also meet senior US lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
This
confirms that the COAS will meet all key political, defence and security
officials during his five-day stay in the US capital.
Diplomatic
sources said that Pakistan’s ambassador
in Washington, Jalil Abbas Jilani, would attend all key meetings.
“The
participation of a civilian representative shows that civilian and military
establishments are on the same page on all matters of national importance,” a
senior diplomatic source said.
Ambassador
Jilani, confirmed that he would be attending all key meetings at the State and
Defence departments.
