Washington, Nov 17 (IANS): Pakistan's army chief General Raheel Sharif and CIA chief John Brennan discussed regional security challenges and the way forward to confront these, said a statement issued here by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

During his visit to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) headquarters in Virginia, Gen. Sharif on Monday highlighted the need for permanent stability in South Asia region, ISPR spokesman Lt.General Asim Bajwa said in a series of tweets.

The army chief stressed the need for an environment in the region conducive to re-initiating an Afghanistan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process, Bajwa tweeted.

Brennan acknowledged the accomplishments of Zarb-i-Azb and its positive impact on the security calculus, he said.

Sharif's visit comes weeks after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed with US President Barack Obama the same issues said to be on the army chief's agenda, including Afghanistan peace talks and Pakistan's nuclear ambitions.