ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir started his first working day in Washington on Wednesday with a meeting with the US Defense Secretary at the Pentagon, discussing regional security developments as well as prospects for bilateral defense cooperation.

Munir flew out of Islamabad on Sunday on his first official visit to the US since he became army chief in November 2022. He reached the US capital on Tuesday afternoon after spending two days in Britain on what was reportedly a private visit.

Washington has worked closely with Pakistani army chiefs over the decades on issues ranging from regional stability to fighting militancy and the war in Afghanistan. During Munir’s visit also, Pakistan’s ongoing deportation drive against illegal migrants, which has disproportionately hit Afghans, will almost certainly be a center of discussions.

Pakistan has openly said its move to expel hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans was a response to the unwillingness of the Taliban-led administration in Kabul to act against militants using Afghanistan to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

Tens of thousands of Afghans, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for decades, have had to leave the country, and authorities are rounding up many more in raids across the country. The US has shared with the government a list of more than 25,000 Afghans it wants exempted from expulsion as they await visas for US resettlement.

“Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir at the Pentagon today, where the two officials discussed recent regional security developments and potential areas for bilateral defense cooperation,” the Pentagon said in a brief statement on the meeting.

Munir is also expected to meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. He may also meet senior members of the US House and the Senate.

Ties between Washington and Islamabad were strained during former prime minister Imran Khan’s tenure from 2018-2022, with Washington accusing Islamabad of allowing Afghan Taliban militants to seek refuge in Pakistan.

The relationship between the two countries soured further when Khan claimed Washington had worked with his political rivals and the military to back a parliamentary move to oust him from office. All three have denied the allegations.

After Khan’s ouster from office, Islamabad’s relationship with Washington has improved following overtures from Pakistan, including a visit by Munir’s predecessor, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, to Washington in October 2022. 

Munir’s landing in the US coincided with militants launching one of the deadliest attacks on the army in recent years, with bombers ramming an explosives-laden car into a security check post in northwest Pakistan, killing 23 soldiers.

The Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have stepped up attacks in Pakistan since they ended a cease-fire with Pakistan’s government in November 2022, days after Munir took office.

Authorities said they have increased their intelligence-based operations, killing more than 500 militants since 2022.