ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir held a meeting with US Central Command (CENTCOM) Chief General Michael Erik Kurilla, according to an official statement issued on Tuesday, and emphasized the need to increase joint military trainings between the two countries.
General Munir arrived in Washington last Tuesday on his first official visit to the United States since he became Pakistan’s army chief in November 2022. During his ongoing visit, he has met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Llyod J. Austin along with several other high-profile American security officials.
Pakistan’s army chiefs have frequently visited the US in their tenures as Islamabad and Washington remained strong Cold War allies and have jointly worked on a wide spectrum of issues ranging from regional stability to fighting militancy, particularly during the war in Afghanistan.
The army chief met the US general at the CENTCOM headquarters at Tampa Bay in Florida.
“During the meeting, matters of shared interests, particularly cooperation in regional security matters came under discussion,” the army’s media wing, ISPR, said in the statement issued after the meeting. “Both sides discussed avenues of joint training and reiterated the need for enhancing training interactions between CENTCOM and Pakistan Army.”
The army chief also visited CENTCOM Joint Operations Center during his visit to Florida.
The US State Department also highlighted Pakistan’s significance as an ally, as General Munir continues his visit to the US.
“Pakistan is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and a NATO partner,” Matthew Miller said in response to a question during a media briefing. “We look forward to partnering with them on regional security and defense cooperation.”
Pakistan’s army chief meets senior US general, calls for enhanced bilateral military trainings
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Pakistan’s army chief meets senior US general, calls for enhanced bilateral military trainings
- General Munir is on his first visit to the US since becoming the army chief and has met Antony Blinken, Llyod Austin
- The State Department calls Pakistan ‘major non-NATO ally,’ saying the US wants to partner with it on security issues
Saudi charity KSrelief distributes 4,000 winter kits in northwest Pakistan
- The charity will distribute around 800 kits each in five districts, containing two quilts and winter clothing
- The program is part of a broader winterization initiative to help communities affected by harsh weather
ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) on Friday said it had started distributing 4,000 winter kits in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to help communities affected by harsh weather.
The program is part of KSrelief’s larger winterization initiative that was launched at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad earlier in January. Under the broader initiative, 22,000 winter kits will be distributed among more than 154,000 Pakistanis across the country.
Each winter kit includes two polyester quilts, warm shawls and winter clothing. Around 800 kits will be distributed in each of the Chitral, Upper Dir, Upper Kohistan, Mansehra and Kurram districts.
"The initiative targets communities severely impacted by harsh winter conditions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, as well as selected areas of Punjab and Sindh experiencing extremely low temperatures," KSrelief said in a statement.
The project is being carried out in close collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority, provincial disaster management authorities, the Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Hayat Foundation.
The statement said the initiative reaffirms KSrelief's continued commitment to alleviating winter-related hardships and improving the living conditions of vulnerable populations across Pakistan.
The Saudi charity has launched numerous projects across Pakistan in food security, health, education and disaster response in recent years, deepening the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between the two countries.
