Tampa/Rawalpindi, 3 December 2022 (TDI): Commander of United States (US) Central Command (CENTCOM), General Michael Erik Kurilla, and Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) of Pakistan, General Asim Munir spoke to each other via video teleconference on 1 December 2022.
The statement was released by Spokesperson US CENTCOM, Col. Joe Buccino on 2 December about the US CENTCOM Commander’s engagement with Pakistan’s new Chief of Staff of the Army.
General Michael Kurilla congratulated Pakistan’s newly appointed Army Chief, General Asim Munir, who replaced General Qamar Javed Bajwa on 29 November.
According to the Statement, both the Army Chiefs have previously established relationships when General Michael Kurilla was CENTCOM Chief of Staff and General Asim Munir was Director General of the ISI.
Also Read: US CENTCOM Commander meets Pakistan’s COAS
Both leaders discussed military relations and security cooperation efforts and further reaffirmed to strengthen bilateral ties between Pakistan and US CENTCOM.
General Asim Munir Ahmed Shah is the 17th Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Army, before his new command he was commanding in General Headquarters as a Quartermaster General.
General Asim Munir took the baton of command of the Pakistan Army from former COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa in a ceremony held at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on 29 November 2022.
He also served as the 23rd Director General of Pakistan’s premier intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) from October 2018 to June 2019 and as Director General of Military Intelligence (MI).
General Michael Kurilla and US CENTCOM
Michael Erik Kurilla is the US Army General serving as the 15th Commander-in-Chief of US Central Command since April 2022, prior to that he served as the commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps and before that as the Chief of Staff of the US CENTCOM.
US CENTCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the US Department of Defense. It operates or its Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes the Middle East, Central Asia, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
