WASHINGTON: “Needs and measures for regional security dominated” the one-hour meeting between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif, the army’s press office said on Wednesday.

Secretary Kerry assured the army chief that the US relationship with Pakistan was independent of its relations with other countries, the statement said.

In a series of tweets issued after the one-hour meeting at the State Department, Director General of Inter Services Public Relations Lt Gen Asim Bajwa said the talks focused on “regional security”.

Within this broader concept of “regional security”, Secretary Kerry and Gen Sharif also tackled specific issues such as the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s relations with India, Mr Bajwa said.

Gen. Sharif highlighted the need for resolving the Kashmir issue, he added.

Secretary Kerry acknowledged Pakistan’s contributions and enormous sacrifices in fight against terror and the COAS “highlighted Pakistan’s perspective of regional security”, Mr Bajwa said.

Pakistan insists that the situation in Afghanistan should be viewed in “the security dynamics” of the South Asian region.

During this and previous visits, Pakistani leaders have urged the US administration to help improve India-Pakistan relations if they want permanent peace in the region. They also want the Americans to prevent India from using the Afghan territory for stirring troubles in Pakistan and to protect Pakistan’s interests in the region as well.

In previous statements, Pakistani leaders have also underlined the steps India has taken under its so-called cold-start doctrine and warned that these measures would further escalate nuclear proliferation in the region.

Mr Bajwa said that the Afghan-owned reconciliation process and the challenges in moving this process forward were also discussed in the meeting.

The army chief “reiterated Pakistan’s desire to solidify US-Pakistan relations based on mutual interest and respect”, he said.

Separately, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said in a press briefing that Defence Secretary Ashton Carter in a meeting with General Raheel Sharif had stressed the need for increased cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Secretary Carter also acknowledged Pakistan’s “critical role” in Afghanistan, Mr Cook said.

He said that Tuesday’s meeting focused on US-Pakistan relationship and the situation in Afghanistan.

They talked about the need for carrying forward the existing relationship between the two militaries.

They also talked about “our shared interest in seeing regional security in the region, and obviously dealing with the terrorism threat not only in Pakistan, but also in neighbouring Afghanistan,” Mr Cook said.

Mr Cook recalled that Secretary Carter had met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Washington last month and had “a positive, productive conversation” with him. “The secretary believes that this relationship with Pakistan is important towards promoting regional stability,” he said.

The Pentagon official said that the United States would continue to hold “defence dialogue” with Pakistan in the perspective of the current situation in the region.

“We … welcome their efforts to trying to foster that stability to the extent possible. Again, in Pakistan itself, but also in — in Afghanistan where they play such a critical role,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2015