British army chief arrives in Pakistan on 5-day ‘Defence Engagement’ visit

• Military cooperation on climate change crisis would be a focus of visit.
• Gen Sanders’ visit comes almost one year after devastating floods.
• Both sides will discuss matters related to bilateral cooperation.

ISLAMABAD: The British Army’s Chief of the General Staff (CGS), General Sir Patrick Sanders, arrived on Monday in Pakistan for a five-day Defence Engagement visit as part of the longstanding defence cooperation agreement between the two countries.

During his visit, General Sanders would meet with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir, alongside other Defence Engagement activities and discussions on bilateral military cooperation in response to climate change-related crises would be a key focus of the visit, a news release said.

The depth and warmth of the UK-Pakistan military relationship and friendship, underpinned by a shared history and ‘living bridge’ diaspora links, are highly valued by the UK.

The existing defence relationship includes Pakistani officers undertaking training at the UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the Advance Command and Staff Course and the Royal College of Defence Studies.

General Sanders’ visit comes almost one year after Pakistan’s devastating floods which left nearly one-third of the country submerged and affected an estimated 33 million people.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence was directly involved in providing assistance for flood relief operations, airlifting in eight boats and ten portable generators at the request of Pakistan’s army chief.

Earlier this year, COAS Muir paid an official visit to the UK from February 5 to 10 in connection with the 5th Pakistan-UK Stabilisation Conference.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had said that the conference was a bi-annual event for military-to-military cooperation between the two countries, in which senior Pakistani military leadership has been participating since 2016.