CIA director meets top military officials

Regional security situation, Afghanistan scenario discussed

The CIA director William Joseph Burns travelled to Pakistan to hold the first direct talks with the country’s top military officials on the evolving situation since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in mid-August.

US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director Burns held meetings with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and also Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed in Rawalpindi yesterday.

The officials discussed “matters of mutual interest, regional security situation and current situation in Afghanistan,” Pakistan military statement said. Pakistan “remains committed to cooperate with its international partners for peace in the region and ensuring a stable and prosperous future for Afghan people,” the statement said.

The American spy agency chief appreciated Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan situation including successful evacuation operations and efforts for regional stability. He pledged increased diplomatic cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.

The high-level meeting in Islamabad is a follow-up to separate discussions by US and British intelligence chiefs and

Russian security council secretary in New Delhi with top Indian officials.

Secret meetings

The meeting comes after the Taliban announced its interim government in Afghanistan. Burns, a former diplomat and back-channel negotiator, reportedly held secret meetings in late August with Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban leader who is now the acting deputy prime minister of Afghanistan.

Earlier on August 27, Richard Moore, head of UK’s foreign intelligence agency MI6, met Pakistan’s Army Chief Gen Bajwa to discuss intelligence and defence collaboration and overall regional security. Foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, Italy and Netherlands have also visited Pakistan in the first week of September to discuss the way forward and collaboration on Afghanistan situation.