India had said issue was bilateral, rejected US mediation: Pakistan's Ishaq Dar reveals

Islamabad: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is likely to hold a meeting with President Donald Trump next week during his visit to the US to attend the UN General Assembly session, a media report said on Tuesday.

The meeting, expected on September 25 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, will also be attended by Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Geo News reported, citing sources.

On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held a telephonic conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during which they reaffirmed their resolve to bolster Pakistan-US ties and strengthen bilateral relations across multifaceted areas of cooperation.

Meanwhile Dar had spoken to Al Jazeera, where he shared, "India had categorically stated the issue during May between us and them was bilateral. So we do not mind bilateral but the dialogue have to be comprehensive. It will have dialogue on terrorism, dialogue on trade on economy on J&K and all the subjects, which we both have been discussing with. So incidentally when the ceasefire offer came through Sec Rubio me on May 10 May around 8:17 or past 8 in the morning I was told that there would be very soon dialogue between you and India at an independent place.".

"When we met on July 25 bilateral meeting myself with Secretary Rubio in Washington, I asked him what happened to dialogue (Rubio) says India says that it is a bilateral issue," he added.

The huddle - taking place with the consultation, support, and endorsement of Qatar and Saudi Arabia - will have a wide-ranging agenda from floods in Pakistan to the repercussions of the Israeli attack on Qatar, it said, citing sources.

The Pakistan-India situation is also likely to be discussed during the high-level meeting, the sources added.

Citing diplomatic sources, it said that Riyadh and Doha are supportive of this Shehbaz-Trump meeting. However, Pakistan's embassy in Washington has refrained from commenting or denying the possible meeting.

The prospective development comes against the backdrop of improving diplomatic relations between Islamabad and Washington, especially following the armed conflict between Pakistan and India in May.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he brokered a ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

Dar had met Rubio in July, and the two sides had discussed a broad range of issues, including bilateral ties, prospects for enhanced cooperation in trade, economy, investment, counter-terrorism, and regional peace.

Soon after the meeting, the two countries announced reaching a trade agreement, which aimed at boosting bilateral trade, improving market access, attracting investment, and strengthening cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Under the agreement, there will be a reduction in tariffs, particularly on Pakistani exports to the US, and a fresh start in economic cooperation between the two countries, which also includes developing oil reserves.

(with agency inputs)