Pakistan and the United States are scheduled to kick off a two-day counter-terrorism dialogue today (Monday), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday. The two countries will hold a Counter Terrorism Dialogue on 6-7 March 2023 in Islamabad, the statement said. Syed Haider Shah, additional secretary (UN and ED) will lead the Pakistan delegation and the US delegation will be headed by Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism Christopher Landberg. The event is aimed at discussing the common threat of terrorism, cooperation at multilateral fora and countering the financing of terrorism. The two-day dialogue will provide an opportunity for both sides to exchange views and share their experiences and best practices in the domain of counter-terrorism. Earlier in February, the US had reiterated that the security relationship with Pakistan is ‘important’ and that many of the threats that Islamabad faces “could well in turn be threats to us”.
However, Washington shied away from confirming reports of a possible resumption of security cooperation with Islamabad which was suspended during the Trump era. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price, when asked about the visit of a defense delegation from Pakistan and the rumored resumption of security cooperation, stated that Islamabad is “valued across many realms”.
