(MENAFN- Gulf Times) A US Senate delegation led by top Republican John McCain flew over Pakistan's tribal areas yesterday after meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss regional security, as Washington gears up to send more troops to neighbouring Afghanistan.
The visit by members of the influential Senate Armed Services Committee came days after Islamabad slammed Washington's decision to sanction a Kashmiri militant leader.
The relationship between the US and Pakistan has been strained at times with some in Washington believing Islamabad has not done enough to bring its influence to bear to persuade the Afghan Taliban to renounce violence.
McCain said 'close co-operation between the US and Pakistan was essential for securing peace and stability in the region at the meeting with Sharif and other top Pakistani officials in Islamabad, according to a statement from the prime minister's office.
He also 'attached importance to (US) relations with Pakistan, which remained a close friend and ally, the statement continued.
Sharif also called the Pakistan-US partnership 'essential, and reiterated Pakistan's commitment to an Afghan-led peace process in Afghanistan, with strong relations between Washington, Kabul and Islamabad a 'prerequisite, according to the statement.
Later Monday the senators flew with the military over South Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to see progress on infrastructure built there with US assistance, including roads and border outposts, and dam and irrigation projects.
A statement from the military said they were also briefed on border security, including Pakistan's bid to fence the frontier with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has received billions in US aid since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Washington is actively considering sending more troops to the war-torn country to help struggling Afghan forces beat back the resurgent Taliban, with American commanders requesting thousands of extra boots on the ground.
Earlier, meeting with Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz, McCain described US engagement with Pakistan in the region as 'important , according to a foreign ministry statement.
'Our relationship is more important perhaps than ever before, McCain told Pakistan TV as he left the meeting.
'We will not have peace in the region without Pakistan, McCain said later.
Aziz for his part vowed Pakistan remained committed to 'constructive engagement with the US in the efforts to create a 'stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
He said Islamabad was ready to deepen its partnership with Washington in the fight against militancy, including against the expanding footprint of the Islamic State group in the region.
Aziz, who is Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs because PM Nawaz Sharif holds the Foreign Ministry portfolio himself, said that the strategic partnership between Pakistan and the United States was 'was critical to achieve peace and stability in the region and beyond.
Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also called US co-operation a 'key factor in security, as McCain agreed on the importance of co-ordination between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a military statement said.
Other members of the delegation included Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senator David Perdue and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
US officials say they seek greater co-operation with Pakistan, not a rupture in ties, after the review the 16-year-old war in Afghanistan, due in mid-July, where some 8,800 US troops remain to support the Western-backed government.
Experts on America's longest war say militant safe havens in Pakistan have allowed Taliban-linked insurgents a place to plot attacks in Afghanistan and regroup after ground offensives.
Critics say Islamabad is not doing enough to crack down on militants such as the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network.
Pakistan argues that it has done a great deal to help the US in tracking down terrorists and points out that it has suffered hundreds of deaths in Islamist militants attacks in response to its crackdowns.
Pakistan last week also reacted sharply when the US State Department on June 26 designated as a terrorist Syed Salahuddin, leader of the largest Kashmiri militant group fighting against Indian rule, accusing the US of acquiescing to the wishes of visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kashmir, ruled in part by India and Pakistan and claimed in entirety by both, is a hot-button issue between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which have fought two of their three wars since independence from Britain over the territory.
Aziz made a point on Sunday of mentioning what the foreign ministry called 'gross human rights violations by the Indian security forces in Kashmir and the international community's 'silence.
Security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir have been accused by activists and rights groups of killing up to 100 separatist protesters since new mass anti-India demonstrations broke out in September.
India argues its actions are justified.
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