ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: The first formal meeting of the recently revived Pakistan-US Defence Consultative Group (DCG) was held here on Thursday which discussed, among other issues, threat perceptions and security environment in the region.
A 40-member US delegation is being led by US undersecretary of defence Douglas J. Feith and defence secretary Lt-Gen Hamid Nawaz Khan (retired) is heading the Pakistan side.
Both sides had also met on Wednesday and reportedly discussed various issues, including forging more cooperation in all the defence-related fields, specially by having joint military exercises.
The consultative group, which did not meet following Pakistan’s nuclear explosions in May 1998, was revived in July last year.
Informed sources said Pakistan side apprised the US delegation about the defence needs of Pakistan.
The US delegation was also briefed about the recent incidents of terrorism both in India and Pakistan, with defence secretary regretting that New Delhi had developed a habit of involving Pakistan in every terrorist attack instead of removing loopholes in its own security system.
According to an official announcement, the defence secretary further briefed the US delegation about the troops build-up at the eastern border and the situation in the Indian-held Kashmir. He said Pakistan expected an evenhanded approach from the US government. Kashmir, he said, was a human issue rather than territorial issue which needed to be resolved according to the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
He highlighted the importance of the DCG meeting, and said it would help revitalise the bilateral ties as well as institutionalize and channelize the process of evolving deep-rooted and sustained defence ties between the two countries.
Feith appreciated Pakistan’s contribution to the coalition forces in their war against terrorism. Without Pakistan’s cooperation, he added, the coalition forces would not have achieved what they did in the operation Enduring Freedom.
Emphasising the significance of the meeting, he said it was designed to strengthen the relations between the two countries by developing plans for military-to-military training and exchanges.
The US undersecretary expressed the hope that the Defence Consultative Group would make substantial headway in the defence cooperation between the two sides.
During the first session, briefings were made on various issues, including war on terrorism. Later, the working groups presented their briefs. The meeting will conclude on Friday after which there will be joint news conference.