Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif embarks on Sri Lanka visit

Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif embarked on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka on Saturday during which he will meet the country's top leadership to deepen defence relations.

General Raheel is visiting Sri Lanka on the invitation of his counterpart, Army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said.

He will meet Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the top leadership of Sri Lanka's armed forces.

"The visit of Army chief will provide both sides with an opportunity to review on-going cooperation and collaboration, and to discuss ways to further broaden and deepen this relationship," army said. It said that Pakistan and Sri Lanka have comprehensive and mutually beneficial training collaboration for Army, Navy and Air Force.

The visit was to take place in May but was postponed after militants attacked a bus in Karachi and killed 45 minority Ismaili people.

Sri Lanka has close military ties with Pakistan and it is believed that Pakistan provided key support in eliminating the threat of militancy in Sri Lanka.