WASHINGTON: Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, who spoke with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on Tuesday, is likely to visit the United States ‘in the near future’, diplomatic sources said.

“The date is still being finalised,” sources said, adding that “visits by defence officials to Washington or Islama­bad are not always announced”.

“Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with Pak­istan’s Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir,” the US Department of Defence said in a statement issued late on Tuesday. “Secretary Austin and Gen Munir discussed areas of mutual interest as well as recent regional developments,” it added.

ISPR, the Pakistan Army’s media wing, is yet to issue a readout on the call.

Gen Munir, who assumed his office in November 2022, has not yet visited Washington. His predecessor, retired Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, visited the US in October 2022, just weeks before his retirement.

That visit too was confirmed only after he reached the US capital, and a statement issued after the meeting only said that Mr Bajwa thanked US officials for helping Pakistan during the 2022 floods and did not disclose any other subject that he might have discussed with Secretary Austin at the Pentagon.

While speculations are rife since the Pentagon issued a brief note about the telephone call, international media reports are linking the contact to the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2023