Washington/Islamabad: In the midst of a rise in terror assaults in Pakistan, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin called Gen. Asim Munir, head of the Pakistani Army, and they addressed "areas of mutual interest and recent regional developments."
In Washington, the US Department of Defence said Secretary of Defence Austin spoke on phone with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Munir. Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon Press Secretary, confirmed the telephonic conversation between the top officials and said, “They discussed areas of mutual interest and recent regional developments.”
Gen Munir and the US secretary had spoken on the phone twice now. The two last spoke in January this year, when Gen Munir received a phone call from the US defence secretary congratulating him on becoming army chief, according to the media.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistani military, has not made a statement regarding the call yet, media reported.
According to media reports, Tom West, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan, has named the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a proscribed organisation, as the greatest threat to regional stability.
The telephonic conversation between Austin and Munir, therefore, assumes significance. According to media, there has been “an uptick in terror activities in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the TTP ended its ceasefire with the Pakistan government in November last year.”