ISLAMABAD: Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, who is in the United States on a five-day visit, met US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter at Pentagon to discuss the bilateral defence relations and regional security, the military’s spokesman said.

The director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, informed through a series of tweets that General Raheel visited Pentagon on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the US defence secretary appreciated Pakistan’s contribution and sacrifices in fighting war on terror and acknowledged the effects of successful counter terrorism operations.

The US will play its part and will fully support any effort of Pakistan in fighting terrorism and extremism, Carter was quoted as saying.

The US defence secretary was of the view that Pakistan’s counter terrorism efforts are “opening opportunities for regional peace”.

He affirmed that both US and Pakistan will continue to operate in a coordinated manner against this global menace of terrorism and extremism, Bajwa said.

During the meeting, General Raheel highlighted the Pakistan’s perspective of regional challenges and reiterated the country’s resolve to eliminate terrorism from its soil for good.

On Monday, the army chief met CIA chief John Brennan to discuss security challenges facing the region and the way forward to confront these.