US President Donald Trump will meet Pakistan’s Army Chief, General Syed Asim Munir, who is in Washington on an official visit. The reports about the meeting came days after the White House denied inviting Munir to the US Army’s 250th anniversary celebrations on June 14.
The Pakistani military leader will meet the US leader for lunch, scheduled to take place at 1:00 PM (Washington time) on Wednesday, in the White House’s Cabinet Room, according to the president’s daily public schedule.
Munir is also expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on his US trip, according to a report by Pakistani daily Dawn.
Why Does The US Need Pakistan?
The timing of the meeting is critical, as it comes during an escalating high-stakes conflict between Israel and Iran. Pakistan shares a land border with Iran, and its geopolitical location as a frontline state in the war is strategically crucial for the US, especially if Washington decides to get directly involved in the conflict.
A US ally, Islamabad has closed its air and land routes with Iran as the latter’s war with Tehran escalated. The move is likely to render hundreds of people stranded on both sides of the border. Pakistan shares several land routes with Iran, with the most prominent being the Gabd-Rimdan border in the Gwadar district of Balochistan and the Taftan border crossing in Chaghi district.
The closure reportedly took place on Sunday and would likely cause food and oil shortages in several districts of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, where essential supplies are often smuggled from Iran.
Asim Munir’s US Visit
The report said the Pakistan Army Chief arrived in Washington on Sunday for a five-day official trip that is “primarily bilateral in nature” and aimed at reinforcing military and strategic ties with the United States.
However, his trip was not well received by several Pakistani nationals and Pakistani Americans, who protested outside his hotel and near the Pakistani embassy in Washington, calling for the restoration of what they described as “unfettered democracy” in Pakistan. The demonstrations were organised by supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), who confronted Munir outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, chanting slogans like “Asim Munir, you are a coward”, “shame on you, mass murderer” and “shame on you, dictator” and “Pakistaniyon Ke Kaatil (Killer of Pakistanies)”
This is Munir’s first official visit to the US since the military conflict with India following the deadly terror attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 civilians on April 22. The clashes ended after Islamabad reached out to New Delhi with a ceasefire proposal. US President Trump had said that he used trade as leverage to broker a truce, a claim that India denied.
News Soource From NDTV
