Centcom chief holds talks with Gen Bajwa

islamabad — The chief of the US Central Command visited Pakistan on Saturday, as President Donald Trump’s administration debated the future of its relations with Islamabad.

General Joseph Votel met army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and toured an area where the Pakistani military fought a campaign to drive out militants, according to the US embassy and Pakistan’s military press office.

“Military cooperation, and even stronger cooperation with Pakistan, is very important, and we deeply appreciate the hospitality and willingness to continue an honest and open relationship,” Votel was quoted as saying by the embassy.

Votel stressed that Pakistani soil should not be used to plan or conduct terrorist attacks against its neighbours, the US embassy said.

US officials say the Afghan Taleban are supported by elements of Pakistan’s military and top intelligence

Military cooperation, and even stronger cooperation with Pakistan, is very important, and we deeply appreciate the hospitality and willingness to continue an honest and open relationship Gen Joseph Votel, Centcom chief

agency, a charge Islamabad denies, pointing to its own losses fighting Taleban-allied militants in North and South Waziristan.

Under one proposal, the United States would review whether to designate Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism unless it pursued senior leaders of the Afghan Taleban and the allied Haqqani network, considered the most lethal Afghan extremist group, US officials said. —