{"id":10911,"date":"2023-10-05T00:24:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-05T00:24:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/army-chief-us-defence-secretary-discuss-areas-of-mutual-interest-and-regional-developments\/"},"modified":"2023-10-05T00:24:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T00:24:05","slug":"army-chief-us-defence-secretary-discuss-areas-of-mutual-interest-and-regional-developments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/army-chief-us-defence-secretary-discuss-areas-of-mutual-interest-and-regional-developments\/","title":{"rendered":"Army chief, US defence secretary discuss areas of mutual interest and regional developments"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin discussed \u201careas of mutual interest as well as recent regional developments\u201d in a telephone conversation, the US Department of Defence has said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with Pakistan\u2019s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir,\u201d it said in a press release<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201cSecretary Austin and Gen. Munir discussed areas of mutual interest as well as recent regional developments.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistan Army\u2019s media wing, has yet to issue a statement on the discussion.<\/p>\n

While the US statement didn\u2019t offer details on the conversation, the conversation comes amid an uptick in terror activities in Pakistan, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.<\/p>\n

On September 6, four security personnel embraced<\/a> martyrdom and over 16 militants were killed in an operation to repulse militants from the Chitral district.<\/p>\n

A report<\/a> released in July by the think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said the first half of the current year witnessed a steady and alarming rise in terror and suicide attacks, claiming the lives of 389 people across the country.<\/p>\n

On Monday, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller offered<\/a> to work with Pakistan on strategies that can better assist the country\u2019s efforts to counter all forms of violent extremism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to work with Pakistan to ensure that we can better assist Pakistan\u2019s efforts to counter all forms of violent extremism,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n

Last month, US Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West identified<\/a> the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the greatest threat to regional stability.<\/p>\n

When asked if Pakistan is a help or hindrance in achieving US goals in Afghanistan, West stated: \u201cI would say on balance they are a help. They are. They are certainly a partner when it comes to security issues. They are a helpful trouble-shooter when it comes to relocation related issues. They have been helpful to us when it comes to refugee processing. So, on balance, I would say help.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin discussed \u201careas of mutual interest as well as recent regional developments\u201d in a telephone conversation, the US Department of Defence has said. \u201cSecretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with Pakistan\u2019s Chief of Army Staff General Asim […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2023\/10\/04135205ceb44ed.jpg?r=135339","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t