Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa concluded his six-day visit to the United States weeks before his scheduled retirement in November to strengthen defence partnership between the two countries, and undo the damage caused by Imran Khan who accused Assistant Secretary of State of conspiring to oust him from power, according to sources.
General Bajwa met US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, according to the Pakistani military’s media wing.
Bajwa’s visit is important for the bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan, which have been troubled by mutual distrust due to the refusal of the Imran Khan government to allow the US access to its military bases for post-withdrawal counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
It is also pertinent to mention that a few weeks before the Pakistani army chief’s visit to Washington, the Joe Biden administration had asked the Congress to approve a $450 million foreign military sale to Pakistan to service the country’s F-16 fighter jets. According to the reports, despite this proposal the “United States has not resumed large-scale bilateral security assistance to Pakistan”.
Over the last few months, Biden’s administration has stepped up to mend the relations between US and Pakistan. Several high-ranking US officials and members of Congress have visited Pakistan in the aftermath of the floods.
According to the experts, General Bajwa has projected by his visits that he favoured open regional relationships, and deeper Pak-US ties irrespective of the US-India relations.
A source in the US also said, “the US administration meetings with General Bajwa is not just about an individual, but an institution, which is on board with the policy of improving Pakistani-US relations.”
The focus of Bajwa’s visit was also to keep an eye on Afghanistan and pressure the Taliban government. And in turn, the US is providing some aid to Pakistan to mitigate the damage and destruction unleashed by monsoon floods as well as use its influence on the International Monetary Fund for the bailout package and help the country come off the FATF list.
According to diplomatic sources, the US has reservations regarding the Chinese role in Pakistan, and they want to use India as a counterbalance against China.
Pakistani Army Chief assured Biden administration that Pakistan will maintain a balancing act with China, sources said. Last month, Bajwa paid a two-day visit to China, where he met Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe.
According to the experts, recent calls for opening up to Pakistan is meant to counterbalance China as well as give a signal to India for snubbing the US and the West over the Ukraine conflict and continuing oil imports from Russia.
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