WASHINGTON – Lieutenant general Kenneth McKenzie, the incoming chief of USCentral Command, said he would make Pakistan a priority engagement after hetakes command of the strategic command theatre.
In a written responselinkto aset of advance policy questions, the Marine Corps general termed themilitary to military relationship between the two countries strong andimportant strategically, given “that Pakistan is a nuclear power that sitsat the nexus of Russian, Chinese, Indian and American geopoliticalinterests”.
McKenzie said previous frustration between Washington and Islamabad hascentered around instability in Afghanistan.
On Monday, US President Donald Trump wrote a letter to Prime Minister ImranKhan seeking Islamabad’s help in facilitating a negotiated settlement ofthe lingering conflict in Afghanistan.
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The US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation at theDepartment of State Zalmay Khalilzad made a trip to Pakistan this weekto reiterate President Trump’s desire to seek the country’s cooperation forpeace and stability in Afghanistan. In a meeting with Khalilzad, Imran saidhe personally wished for regional peace and that Trump’s letter urgingPakistan to back the peace process was welcomed.
McKenzie said, “stability in the South Asia region remains the mostimportant mutual strategic interest for both the US and Pakistan, and Ithink we must continue to engage with Pakistani leadership to realise howwe can achieve this mutual interest”.
