Pakistan seeks stronger US cooperation amid economic, security challenges

• Both sides hash out expanding economic, security cooperation.
• Discuss approaches to countering terrorism, violent extremism.
• US official vows to work closely with Pakistan during his tenure.
  

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Monday emphasised the importance of positive and productive engagement between Pakistan and the US, highlighting the ongoing macroeconomic and regional security challenges, particularly the infiltration of insurgency through the porous Afghan border.

Dar, who is also the country’s foreign minister, said this during an interaction with the US Acting Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs John Bass, at the Foreign Office in Islamabad. The meeting was also attended by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Horst.

Both officials discussed approaches to expanding bilateral cooperation on economic and security issues, including countering terrorism and violent extremism, and the importance of fostering regional stability and prosperity, according to a US Mission handout.

Earlier this month, the US strongly condemned the August 26 terrorist attacks in Balochistan, which resulted in the deaths of over 50 people, including 14 security personnel.

The US State Department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller, at a news briefing, said that "Washington strongly condemned the deadly attacks that targeted security officials and civilians, including the murder of 23 innocent civilians in Musakhail".

The assaults were the most widespread in years by ethnic militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the resource-rich province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine.

Acting Under Secretary Bass expressed his gratitude for Pakistan’s continued cooperation in assisting Afghans in resettlement pathways to the US.

The Under Secretary congratulated the Deputy Prime Minister on Pakistan’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2025-2026 term and expressed the US’s interest in working closely with the Government of Pakistan during its tenure.

Bass, also called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir. The meeting focused on matters of military cooperation, geopolitical issues, and security situation along the Pak-Afghan border.

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban government returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, mostly in the border province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but also in Balochistan, which abuts Afghanistan and Iran.

At least 170 militant attacks were killing 151 civilians and 114 security personnel in Balochistan last year, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

Against this backdrop, the federal cabinet in June this year approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.