BEIRUT: Pakistan and Lebanon held the inaugural session of Military Staff Talks earlier this month in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. The Pakistani side was headed by the Director General Joint Staff Headquarters Lieutenant General Malik Zafar Iqbal, while the Lebanese side was led by the Deputy Chief of Staff (Planning) Brigadier General Joseph Sarkis, said a handout from Beirut on Thursday. The delegation from Pakistan congratulated Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on the successful conduct of Operation Fajr al Jaroud to evict terrorist groups from Lebanon’s north-eastern town of Arsal. The delegation apprised the Lebanese side of the counter-terrorists actions carried out by Pakistani defence forces and law enforcement agencies as well as the unparalleled sacrifices rendered by the country in this fight. As both the countries were victims of terrorism, the two delegations agreed to benefit from each other’s experiences in this respect. The two sides discussed various dimensions of the ongoing cooperation and deliberated upon ways and means to expand and deepen bilateral ties. Lebanese side thanked Pakistan for extending generous training facilities to LAF personnel. Acknowledging the similarity of challenges to the two countries emanating from their respective geostrategic locations and regional dynamics, the two sides agreed to institutionalize bilateral Staff Talks and military exchanges. They agreed to hold the next session of the Staff Talks in Islamabad. Earlier, Pakistani delegation was received by the LAF Commander, General Joseph Aoun. The head of Pakistan’s delegation extended an invitation to General Aoun for attending the IDEAS-2018 exhibition to be held in Karachi from November 27-30. The delegation also visited Lebanese Air and Naval Headquarters and received extensive briefings. They also visited Lebanese military training and research institutions and held useful discussions on cooperation for mutual benefit. Published in Daily Times, October 19th 2018.