Pak army chief in Russia to seek weapons to fight Taliban

Pak army chief in Russia to seek weapons to fight Taliban
22 Jun 2009, 1840 hrs IST, PTI
MOSCOW: Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is expected to seek weapons from Russia to enable his country to counter the growing threat
from the Taliban. During his three-day visit here which began yesterday, Gen Kayani is scheduled to hold parleys with Russian army chief Gen Vladimir Boldyrev and senior officials of the Federal Agency for Military-Technical Cooperation with the foreign countries. His visit is a follow up of last week's meeting between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Yekaterinburg. "During talks, the issues of military cooperation between Russia and Pakistan will be discussed," Russian Army spokesman Colonel Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by Interfax. According to sources, Gen Kayani is expected to seek Russian help, including weapons, to counter insurgency in Pakistan. Earlier through diplomatic channels and former President Pervez Musharraf, who was recently here on a 'private' visit, Islamabad had sought Russian weapons for 'counter-terrorist' operations.