Washington:Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Ali Jahangir Siddiqui has met US Secretary of Defence General James Mattis and discussed Islamabad’s ties with Afghanistan and the regional security.

Mr Siddiqui, accompanied by Pakistan’s Defence Attache Brigadier Kamal Anwar Chaudhry, visited the US Department of Defence headquarters in Pentagon on Monday, a Geo TV report said.

Earlier this month, Mr Siddiqui had said both Pakistan and the US were aware of the issues surrounding bilateral ties. The two countries were working towards the restoration of their bilateral relationship.

The Pakistani envoy has earlier stressed that peace in Afghanistan was his top priority and Pakistan remained committed to ending regional conflict.

US Army Lieutenant General Austin Miller, Trump’s nominee to head the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, said in a statement to a Senate panel last month that Pakistan had made “many sacrifices” and “its security forces have fought bravely,” but “we have not yet seen these counter-terrorism efforts against anti-Pakistan militants translate into definitive actions against Afghan Taliban or Haqqani leaders residing in Pakistan.”

UNI