ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and the United States (US) have discussed jointly countering Daesh, Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups to advance regional security and address transnational threats, the Pakistani foreign ministry said on Monday.

The consensus was reached during a recently held Pakistan-US Counterterrorism Dialogue in Washington DC, which was co-chaired by Pakistan’s Additional Foreign Secretary Syed Haider Shah and US State Department coordinator for counterterrorism, Elizabeth Richard.

The dialogue underscored the cooperation between Pakistan and the US in addressing challenges to regional and global security, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh-Khorasan, with discussions centered on the counterterrorism landscape in the region.

“Pakistan and the United States recognize that a partnership to counter Daesh-Khorasan (Daesh-Khorasan), TTP and other terrorist organizations will advance security in the region and serve as a model of bilateral and regional cooperation to address transnational terrorism threats,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

“Both governments resolved to increase communication on these topics and continue collaboration to detect and deter violent extremism through whole-of-government approaches.”

The development came amid a renewed wave of violence in Pakistan’s western regions that border Afghanistan, where the TTP and Daesh are said to have their sanctuaries.

Islamabad has accused Kabul of not doing enough to tackle militant groups targeting Pakistan from across the border. Last week, a Pakistani military spokesman said a suicide bomb attack that killed five Chinese engineers in March was planned in neighboring Afghanistan, and that the bomber was also an Afghan national.

Kabul has denied allowing the use of its territory against any country and says rising violence in Pakistan is a domestic issue of Islamabad.

During the dialogue, Pakistani and US officials emphasized the importance of expanded counterterrorism collaboration and capacity-building, including exchanges of technical expertise and best practices, investigative and prosecutorial assistance, provision of border security infrastructure and training, and strengthening multilateral engagement such as in the United Nations and the Global Counterterrorism Forum, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.

“The Counterterrorism Dialogue reaffirms Pakistan’s and the United States’ shared determination to contribute to both regional and global security and stability,” it added.

ISLAMABAD: A team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistani officials on Monday began formal talks in Islamabad for a fresh, longer-term bailout program for the cash-strapped South Asian country, the Pakistani finance ministry said.

The South Asian country, which has been facing low foreign exchange reserves, currency devaluation and high inflation, last month completed a short-term $3 billion IMF program that helped stave off a sovereign default, but the incumbent government of PM Shehbaz Sharif has stressed the need for a fresh, longer-term program.

While Islamabad has said it expects a staff-level agreement by July, both Pakistani and IMF officials have refrained from commenting on the size of the program. The South Asian country is expected to seek around $7-8 billion bailout from the global lender.

On Monday, the IMF team, led by Mission Chief Nathan Porter, met Pakistan Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, central bank governor, chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue and other officials to kickstart discussions on further engagement with the lender.

“The Finance Minister welcomed the IMF team and thanked them for the successful completion of the [$3 billion] Standby Arrangement (SBA),” the Pakistani finance ministry said in a statement.

“The Finance Minister apprised the IMF team of the improvement in the macro-economic indicators over the course of the SBA and underscored the government’s commitment to continue with and expand upon the reform agenda.”

Pakistan narrowly averted a default last summer and its $350 billion economy has slightly stabilized after the completion of the last IMF program, with inflation coming down to around 17 percent in April from a record high of 38 percent in May last year.

However, the South Asian country is still dealing with a high fiscal shortfall and while it has controlled its external account deficit through import control mechanisms, it has come at the expense of stagnating growth, which is expected to be around 2 percent this year, compared to negative growth last year.

Wall Street Bank Citi expects Pakistan to reach an agreement with the IMF of up to $8 billion program by end-July, and recommends going long on the country’s 2027 international bond.

“While longer-term challenges pertain, we see several positive catalysts supporting the Eurobonds,” Nikola Apostolov at Citi wrote in a note to clients.

“First, a larger and longer IMF EFF (Extended Fund Facility) program could be finalized by July – possibly a $7-8 billion 4-year program and secondly and a possible inflow of Saudi investments,” Apostolov said after a team from Citi visited Pakistan and met policymakers, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.

Citi said it expected Pakistan’s international 2027 bond to offer a sweet spot to investors with sufficient liquidity and large upside as risks of default dissipate further.

— With additional inputs from Reuters.