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Pakistan's Chief of the Air Staff Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu paid an official visit to the US to further enhance bilateral defence cooperation after Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir recently undertook a similar tour. This was the first visit by a serving Pakistan Air Force (PAF) chief in over a decade, an indication of stepping up military engagements between Pakistan and the US. The Chief of the Air Staff of Pakistan Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Babar Sidhu, paid an official visit to the US, the first visit by any serving Air Chief of the Pakistan Air Force in over a decade, which will further enhance bilateral defence cooperation and mutual interests, a PAF statement said on Wednesday. This high-level visit is a strategic milestone in the Pak-US defence partnership. The visit will play a significant role in addressing key regional and global security issues as well as building institutional ties, it said. It further said Sidhu held several important meetings with th
Pakistan said on Thursday that any effort by the US to retrieve the leftover weapons in Afghanistan would help to improve the security of the region. Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said in response to a question at a weekly press briefing that the US left its weapons in Afghanistan and Pakistan supported the idea that the US can try to get its weapons back. Our concern is that those weapons have been found to being used by terrorists in their operations inside Pakistan. We have flagged it. If the US can make any efforts to get those weapons back, it would be helpful for the overall regional security environment, he said. Khan also said that Pakistan's security cooperation with the US has been an ongoing process along with counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation. To a question, he said that the effort of Pakistani law enforcement agencies against terrorists, including against ISKP (Islamic State (Khorasan Province), resulted in significant successes, including t
In the wake of US President Donald Trump reportedly allocating USD 397 million for Pakistan's F-16 fleet maintenance, the Congress on Tuesday questioned the Modi government's diplomatic strategy and called for a reassessment of India's foreign policy priorities to safeguard national interests. There was no immediate reaction from the government or the ruling BJP on the matter. Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the recent decision by President Trump to allocate USD 397 million for Pakistan's F-16 fleet maintenance raises critical questions about the Modi government's diplomatic efficacy. This move, reminiscent of the 2022 Biden administration's USD 450 million package for the same purpose, highlights a pattern of US military support to Pakistan, he said in a post on X. Such actions potentially compromise India's security interests, especially given the historical use of F-16s by Pakistan against India, Khera said. During the UPA years (2004-?2014), Indi
The United States is closely monitoring Pakistan's electoral process, an official of the US State Department has said, observing that it has concerns over the infringement with respect for freedom of expression, assembly, and associations. Speaking at his regular press briefing, US State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that it wants the broad participation of the people of Pakistan in the country's election. "We're continuing to monitor Pakistan's electoral process quite closely, and as we have said, we want to see that process take place in a way that facilitates broad participation with respect for freedom of expression, assembly, and associations, Patel said. Pakistan will hold its general elections on February 8. "We have concerns of all incidents of violence and restrictions on media freedom; freedom of expression, including internet freedom; and peaceful assembly and association. We're concerned by some of the infringements that we've seen in that space. ..
A group of 11 influential US lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to withhold future assistance to Pakistan until Islamabad restores constitutional order and holds free and fair elections, it emerged on Sunday. In a letter to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, the lawmakers, which included Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who is one of the champions of Muslim causes in the US Congress, requested the state department to assess if US-origin security assistance had facilitated human rights violations in Pakistan. We further request that future security assistance be withheld until Pakistan has moved decisively toward the restoration of Constitutional order, including by holding free and fair elections in which all parties are able to participate freely, they wrote. Pakistan's moves to further strengthen the blasphemy law also figured prominently in the letter, which warned Secretary Blinken that the proposed changes would be used to further tighten the noose around smaller religious
The F-16 programme is an important part of a broader US-Pakistan bilateral relationship and this fleet will allow the country to support counterterrorism operations, the Biden administration has said, defending its decision to provide a USD 450 million worth of military sustenance programme to Pakistan. On September 8, the Biden administration approved a USD 450 million F-16 fighter jet fleet sustainment programme to Pakistan to help it meet current and future counterterrorism threats, in Washington's first major security assistance to Islamabad in four years. We did recently notify Congress of a proposed foreign military sale valued at USD450 million for maintenance and sustainment services for the Pakistani Air Force's F-16 programme, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday. Pakistan is an important partner in a number of regards, an important counterterrorism partner. And as part of our longstanding policy, we provide lifecyc