File photo of Chief of Army Staff Gen. Asim Munir
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Asim Munir on Sunday commenced his inaugural visit to the U.S. since assuming the top slot of the armed forces, flying to Washington where he would engage with his military counterparts.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), this is Gen. Munir’s first visit to the U.S. as the Army chief. It said he was scheduled to meet senior U.S. military and government officials during the visit, including the U.S. secretary of defense, the secretary of state, and the national security adviser at the White House.
Local media has reported that the Army chief might also address a select gathering of U.S. scholars and foreign policy experts, but this has yet to be confirmed by the military.
Gen. Munir’s visit comes after several U.S. officials visited Islamabad over the past week. According to the Foreign Office, Julieta Valls Noyes, the assistant secretary of state for the bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, visited Pakistan from Dec. 4-6, with a focus on expediting the resettlement of Afghan refugees within the U.S. immigration framework. After this tour, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West visited Islamabad from Dec. 7-9, during which he conveyed Washington’s resolve to “stand with Pakistan” in its fight against terrorism, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In a posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said the U.S. was “grateful” for close communication with Islamabad regarding refugee protection issues amidst an ongoing repatriation drive to expel all undocumented migrants from Pakistan. He said his trip had included meetings with interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, Army chief Gen. Munir, Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan Asif Durrani, and Interior Secretary Aftab Akbar Durrani.
Currently, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Pakistan Elizabeth Horst is also in Pakistan, with her tour set to conclude on Dec. 12. It is unclear if she met the Army chief prior to his departure for Washington.
While this is the COAS’ first tour to Washington since assuming office, he has regularly maintained contacts with U.S. officials over the past year. According to the ISPR, he held discussions with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in October; and met U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla in July.