Donald Trump, Pakistan's army chief Gen. Asim Munir.
Credit: Reuters Photo
By Derek Wallbank
President Donald Trump will meet with Pakistan’s army chief on his first official visit to the US since intense clashes broke out earlier this year near the Pakistan-India border, ending in a US-brokered ceasefire between Islamabad and New Delhi.
The lunch meeting between Trump and Pakistan’s Asim Munir is scheduled to take place at 1 pm Washington time Wednesday, in the White House Cabinet Room, according to the president’s daily public schedule.
The Pakistani military leader is also expected to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his US trip, media in the south Asian country reported.
The latest conflict between the two regional rivals was touched off by a deadly attack on tourists by gunmen who killed 26 civilians in Indian Kashmir on April 22. New Delhi called the massacre an act of terrorism orchestrated by Pakistan. Leaders in Islamabad have denied involvement.
Trump said he used trade as leverage to broker a ceasefire between the two South Asian rivals — an assertion India has repeatedly denied but Pakistan has embraced.
A meeting between Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been anticipated at the Group of Seven summit in Canada this week as their two countries negotiate a new trade accord.
But before the expected bilateral session could be held, Trump returned to Washington a day early, saying he had to attend to the turmoil in the Middle East.
Indian officials had initially said that Modi wouldn’t attend the G-7. His country is not a member, but he was invited by the host, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.