U.S. Senator John McCain said on Sunday there could be “no peace” in Afghanistan or the rest of South Asia without Pakistan’s cooperation, as he visited Islamabad ahead of a review from the US of its Afghan war strategy.
McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, met Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan’s top foreign policy official. And also met Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who is perceived as one of the most powerful individual in Pakistan.
“Our relationship is more important perhaps than ever before,” McCain told Pakistan TV as he left the meeting.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is exploring to work closer together with Islamabad over Afghan-based militants launching attacks in Pakistan, two U.S. officials told Tactical Talk last month.
“We will not have peace in the region without Pakistan,” McCain, who was accompanied by senators Lindsey Graham, Elizabeth Warren, Sheldon White house and David Perdue, said later.
