Press Releases 2008
CENTCOM Commander Completes His First Official Visit to Pakistan
November 5, 2008
Islamabad - General David Petraeus, Commander, United States Central Command, completed his first official visit abroad since assuming command on October 31, 2008. During his visit he met with both senior Pakistan civilian and military leadership, discussing a wide range of topics from Pakistani Sovereignty, the nature of the Al Qaeda threat within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), to the long standing and ever increasing mutual cooperation between the two nations.
General Petraeus met with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, National Security Advisor Mehmud Ali Durrani, Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid, Chief of the Army Staff Parvez Ashfaq Kayani, and the Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence Lieutenant General Ahmad Shuja (Pasha).
When commenting about the discussions with Pakistan Governmental officials about the nature of threat, General Petraeus stated, "In general there is mutual agreement on the nature of the threat in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a threat that they increasingly see as a threat to Pakistan’s existence. This is not our war that Pakistan is waging … this is their war and it is a result of extremists carrying out acts of truly indiscriminate violence."
General Petraeus ended his visit in Islamabad on Tuesday visiting with Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who are assigned to the Office of Defense Representative to Pakistan prior to visiting civilian and military officials in the city of Peshawar. During his visit in Peshawar, he made office calls and had very positive and candid discussions with the Governor and the Chief Minister of the Northwest Frontier Provence, as well as the Commander’s of the 11th Corps and Frontier Corps. Additionally, he took a tour, by helicopter, of the Northwest Frontier Province and FATA region.