Visiting dignitary receives guard of honor from the Tri Services contingent on his arrival at GHQ
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defense Staff (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and , the Commander-in-Chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces, General Rodolphe Haykal, meet at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. PHOTO: ISPR
Pakistan and Lebanon discussed regional security, defense cooperation and prospects for strengthening bilateral military ties during talks between the Chief of Defense and Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Lebanon, General Rodolphe Haykal, the military’s media wing said on Tuesday.
According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the two army chiefs met at the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi and “the visiting guard of honor was presented as a guard of honor by a smartly deployed Tri Services contingent on his arrival at GHQ”.
“During the meeting, both dignitaries exchanged views on issues of mutual interest, evolving regional security environment, defense cooperation and prospects for strengthening bilateral military relations,” the statement added.
The statement said the discussions focused on strengthening professional interactions, training cooperation and institutional links between the armed forces of the two countries.
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“CDF Munir reaffirmed the importance Pakistan attaches to its long-standing and cordial relations with Lebanon and underlined the Pakistan Army’s commitment to expanding defense cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces,” ISPR said.
It added that General Rodolphe Haykal appreciated the professionalism and operational excellence of the Pakistan Armed Forces and acknowledged their contribution to regional peace, stability and international peacekeeping efforts.
“The visit reflected the shared commitment of both armed forces to promote closer military-to-military cooperation,” the statement concluded.
War on Lebanon
Israel invaded Lebanon in March after Iran-backed Hezbollah fired rockets and drones across the border. Lebanon and Israel said on June 3 that they had agreed to a ceasefire after talks in Washington.
Israel struck on the outskirts of Beirut on Sunday for the first time since the United States announced a ceasefire plan for Lebanon last week, and an Iranian lawmaker threatened to retaliate, putting talks to end the wider war in fresh jeopardy.
Iran has long said any peace deal with the United States would depend on a cease-fire that also applies in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March in pursuit of Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters firing across the border in solidarity with Tehran.
Trump has leaned on Israel to scale back his campaign in Lebanon to make way for a peace deal with Iran, including reprimanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with obscenities in a phone call last week. After the call, Netanyahu called off airstrikes on Beirut and agreed to the latest ceasefire plan with the Lebanese government.
But Israel has never fully halted its campaign in Lebanon, which has killed thousands of people and displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes. Hezbollah, which was not a party to the ceasefire and would be wound up under its terms, has also continued the attacks and said it would not give up its weapons unless Israel stops the fighting and withdraws.
The wider war has stalled since the US and Israel halted their attacks on Iran in early April, with Tehran blocking most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the main transit route for oil from the Middle East. Washington has imposed its own blockade of Iranian ports.
Although the sides have both said they are close to a tentative deal that would reopen the strait, they have repeatedly traded strikes, with escalations in recent days that have included attacks on nearby Arab states that host US bases.
