Gen Bajwa arrives in Sri Lanka on two-day official visit

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Qammar Javed Bajwa on Tuesday arrived in Sri Lanka on a two-day official visit on invitation from his counterpart Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake.

General Bajwa held meetings with the Sri Lankan military leadership including the Chief of Defence Staff and the chiefs of all three services. He was given guards of honour in all three service headquarters. He also visited the Command and Staff College Sri Lanka and interacted with faculty and staff.

Sri Lankan leadership expressed their gratitude and appreciation for Pakistan’s unequivocal moral and material support during Sri Lanka’s successful war on terror. They also appreciated the success of the Pakistan army in ongoing war on terror.

General Bajwa highlighted that having cleared troubled areas from terrorists of all hues and colours, Pakistan is now going after their disorganised residual presence under Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad.

He said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are probably the only two countries which understand what it takes to defeat the menace of terrorism.

During the meetings various new initiatives and ongoing projects were discussed to improve the existing defence ties between the two brotherly countries.

He is expected to pay courtesy calls on President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss and dilate upon issues of regional security and matters pertaining to mutual interest.