DUSHANBE, December 25, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Issues related to military and technical cooperation between Tajikistan and Pakistan were the focus of meeting of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon with Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wynne that took place here on December 22.

The Tajik presidential press service reports Pakistani flag officer has highly appraised the results of his visit to Tajikistan.  He reportedly also expressed satisfaction with the present level of interaction between the defense ministries and law enforcement authorities of the two countries aimed mostly at jointly fighting modern challenges and threats, including terrorism and extremism.

In the course of the talks, Rahmon and Wynne noted that appropriate structures of Tajikistan and Pakistan should expand interaction in the field of exchange of information and experience in countering terrorism and extremism, the source said.

The two also considered the current situation in the region and the issues of providing peace and stability in Afghanistan.

General Wynne expressed hope that a delegation of representatives from the Tajik defense and law enforcement structures would pay a return visit to Islamabad in the near future to continue negotiations on expansion of bilateral cooperation.

We will recall that General Khalid Shameem Wynne arrived in Tajikistan Wednesday (December 21) evening on a three-day official visit.

Tajik Defense Ministry spokesman Faridoun Mahmadaliyev has noted a group of Pakistani officers will arrive in Tajikistan soon to help in preparing curriculum for the Tajik army and Tajik army officers will be trained at Pakistani military academies.

This agreement was reportedly finalized at the meeting of Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev with Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wynne that took place in Dushanbe on December 21.   

General Khalid Shameem Wynne, (born August 28, 1953), is a four-star general in the Pakistan Army and the current and 14th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.  The official statement noted that "Gen. Wynne was appointed as Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee by President Asif Ali Zardari, on the advice of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.”

Before this appointment, Wynne was reportedly serving as the Chief of General Staff (CGS) at General Headquarters since April 2010.  He also served as Commander of the Southern Command (formerly the XII Corps) in Quetta from 2007 till 2010 overseeing the Baloch insurgency and the fallout of the war in the Tribal Areas.