ISLAMABAD: The Commander of the United States Central Command (Centcom), General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr, called on Monday the Chief of the Army General Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and discussed with him the geostrategic environment and the regional security, including the situation in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
General McKenzie, who has been in Pakistan since September 7, met with General Bajwa with his delegation, the military media relations service Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a press release.
The head of Centcom had arrived in Islamabad along with a 17-member delegation on Saturday. He visited the Tarbela dam and toured several components of the project, including the main dam, landfills, reservoir and power plant.
Accompanied by the US ambassador to Pakistan, Paul Jones and others, General McKenzie was informed about the project by the retired president of the Water and Energy Development Authority (Wapda), retired Lieutenant General Muzammil Hussain.
Meeting also reviews the geostrategic environment
On the occasion, the delegation of the United States had observed that the recent donation of the United States worth $ 41 million would prolong the life of the Tarbela power plant by 15-20 years and restore 148 megawatts of its generation capacity of energy
In early April, General McKenzie met with Prime Minister Imran Khan and discussed relations between the United States and Pakistan and the Afghan peace talks, among other issues.
The prime minister, in his meeting with General McKenzie, had expressed his "long-standing commitment to peace and stability in Afghanistan through a political agreement."
The prime minister also stressed the importance of continuing military cooperation between Pakistan and the United States to counter "emerging threats", including the militant Islamic State group, which focuses on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
General McKenzie, who assumed the position of head of US Centcom in May after the retirement of General Joseph Votel, during his previous two-day stay in Islamabad, also met with Defense Minister Pervez Khattak with the Secretary of Relations Foreign, Tehmina Janjua, with the chief of the Army General Staff, General Qamar Bajwa. , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Gen Zubair Hayat, Chief of Staff of the Air Chief Marshall Mujahid Anwar and Chief of Naval General Staff Admiral Zafar Abbasihad.
At his meetings, General McKenzie had reaffirmed the United States' commitment to security and stability in the region.
Posted in Dawn, September 10, 2019
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1504510/coas-centcom-commander-discuss-kashmir-afghan-issues