Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif is making the most of his five day visit to the US and has already held several important meetings with key figures in the defence establishment and discussed bilateral defence cooperation and the prospects of regional peace in South Asia. The short visit has gained added prominence in the aftermath of the Paris attacks as the world’s focus has been jolted once again towards confronting the menacing spectre of Islamist terrorism that by now knows no borders. As such, the discussions and agreements made during the meetings of the COAS can have major implications for the global response towards terrorism as both Pakistan and the US are two of the most important frontline states of this war. Thus it comes as no surprise that the war against global terrorism figured prominently in the COAS’s meetings with both the US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter at the Pentagon and the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan at the CIA headquarters in Langley. General Raheel was reportedly assured by his hosts that the US will continue to fully support Pakistan in its fight against terrorism as the US officials expressed appreciation for Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The COAS on his part held out the reassurance that Pakistan was committed to eliminating terrorism for good but also made some demands on his US counterparts that the Pakistani military feels are essential to ensure regional peace. The army chief highlighted that the fight against terrorism cannot be won with Afghanistan’s security situation in disarray but currently the environment in Pakistan’s western neighbour was not conducive to restarting the crucial peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. The COAS therefore urged the US security officials to do more in Afghanistan to push the Afghan government in the direction of the peace talks while also intervening to reduce the dangerously escalated tensions between Pakistan and its eastern neighbour India. As things stand, Pakistan is facing uncertainty on both borders and this situation was distracting from the operation against the terrorist networks within Pakistan’s borders. Incidentally, the same sentiment on Afghanistan was echoed by Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif when he addressed the media during his visit to Uzbekistan and highlighted the necessity of achieving peace in Afghanistan to give the entire Central and South Asian region a collective boon. It is hoped that the COAS’s trip to the US results in meaningful reflection and review by both countries about their respective counterterrorism policies and both parties come away with an appreciation of the need to increase their cooperation and convergence. The direct and urgent nature of these talks bodes well for reducing communication breakdowns and built up grievances between the two testy allies. The Paris attacks orchestrated by the Islamic State have made it clear, if it was not obvious before, that the entire world is at risk from the group whose ideology and practices openly defy the notion of international borders and thus call for a coordinated global response, which relies on shared intelligence and firepower. While we see that in Syria, even adversarial countries like Russia and France are coming together to bomb the IS and its bases, such convergence is lacking elsewhere in the world but is badly needed. It will be delusional folly to continue discriminating between different terrorist outfits and to expect these groups to stay within a specific region. As such, Pakistan’s overtures to the US should be heeded. The assistance and support that Pakistan seeks in its fight against local militants is necessary and without it terrorism cannot be rooted out from within the country. These concerns should not be dismissed as a Pakistan-specific problem as indeed the militancy in Pakistan is but one crucial block of the larger global menace and needs to be destroyed with just as much urgency as the IS does. The US as the superpower needs to act responsibly and make sure that Pakistan’s operation against terrorism is not handicapped by its inaction and failure to use its influence to minimise the possibility of a nightmarish two-front war that can cripple Pakistan’s counterterrorism drive. Pakistan has a key role to play in the global fight against terrorism but to do so it must be supported to bring its own house in order. Total sincerity from all stakeholders is an absolute requirement if there is to be any chance of envisioning a peaceful world. *