DM Monitoring
WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday said that no visit of United States President Donald Trump was scheduled to Pakistan “at this time” after widespread reports of a trip.
Earlier in the day, some local television news channels reported, citing sources, that Trump was expected to visit Pakistan in September. The news channels said that Trump would also visit India after arriving in Islamabad in September. The channels later withdrew their reports.
The White House dismissed the rumours. “A trip to Pakistan has not been scheduled at this time,” a White House official said.
Talking to Dawn.com on the reported visit earlier, Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said: “We have no information about this matter.”
Similarly, a US embassy spokesperson in Islamabad told Reuters, “We have nothing to announce,” and said that the White House might be able to provide confirmation on the president’s schedule.
George W Bush was the last US president to visit Pakistan in 2006. US-Pakistan relations saw a major boost when Trump hosted Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month in an unprecedented meeting.
India is due to host the summit of the so-called Quad countries this year, but dates for the meeting have not been announced yet.
The Quad grouping includes the US, India, Australia and Japan and is focused on countering China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific region.
Britain’s King Charles will host Trump from September 17 to 19 for his unprecedented second state visit to Britain, Buckingham Palace said on Monday.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir discussed joint counterterrorism efforts and expanding bilateral trade during their “cordial” meeting in Washington, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.
Gen Munir met with Trump at the White House yesterday, becoming the first serving chief of army staff to have a face-to-face meeting with a sitting US president. The occasion also marked the first time a serving Pakistani army chief had been formally received at this level, without holding political office or governing under martial law.
The high-level engagement was scheduled at the Cabinet Room over luncheon, followed by a visit to the Oval Office.
Secretary of State Senator Marco Rubio and Special Representative for Middle Eastern Affairs Steve Witkoff were present during the meeting from the US side, while National Security Advisor Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik — also the intelligence chief — accompanied the COAS.
“Although initially scheduled for one hour, the meeting extended for over two hours, underscoring the depth and cordiality of the dialogue,” the ISPR said in a press release.
During the meeting, Trump “lauded Pakistan’s ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability, and appreciated the robust counterterrorism cooperation between the two states”, the statement said.
It noted that both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continued collaboration in the field of counterterrorism.
