WASHINGTON: Pakistan and the United States completed their security level talks in Washington on Wednesday, days before a scheduled meeting between their foreign policy chiefs is scheduled to be held in New York.
Inter-Services Intelligence Director-General (DG ISI) Lt-Gen Nadeem Anjum spent three days in Washington this week, meeting senior security officials, including US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J. Burns.
Neither side disclosed the details of these meetings, but the talks are believed to have focused on bilateral security concerns and the situation in Afghanistan, as the US believes that Pakistan can help stabilise the war-torn country.
The last security level talks between the two countries were held in July 2021, when then-National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf met Mr Sullivan at White House. The Pakistani delegation had also included former ISI chief Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed.
Later, Mr Sullivan said in a tweet that their talks focused on ‘regional connectivity and security, and “the urgent need for a reduction in violence in Afghanistan.”
The current ISI chief’s visit followed an unprecedented deterioration in Pakistan-US ties, triggered by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s claim that Washington conspired with opposition leaders to topple his government.