U.S. President Donald Trump will receive Pakistan's Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the White House on Wednesday, as per the official presidential schedule. The meeting, at 1:00 p.m. local time, will take place in the Cabinet Room and is an important diplomatic interaction between the two countries.
The news follows reports of contradictory accounts of Munir's attendance at the U.S. Army's 250th-anniversary ceremonies on June 14. Initial claims of his attendance were refuted by the White House, raising questions regarding the aim and timing of his visit to the U.S.
Coming to Washington on Sunday on a five-day official visit, Munir is also going to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn. The visit is said to be largely about bilateral issues, designed to enhance military and strategic ties between Islamabad and Washington.
The summit comes against the backdrop of rising violence in the Middle East, with Iran and Israel engaged in a bloody confrontation now on day six. Iran has been called upon to accept an "unconditional surrender" by President Trump. In the past, Munir has supported Tehran, adding layers of complexity to the geopolitics surrounding the visit.
This is Munir's first official U.S. visit since the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists. The mass killing was attributed by The Resistance Front to a Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot, which sparked anger from India.
In rebuttal to the attack, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar made trenchant comments on Munir's ideology. "To understand that, you have to see that on the Pakistani side, especially their Army chief, who is motivated by an extreme religious perspective. There is clearly some link between the thoughts that were articulated and the way the attack was executed," Jaishankar explained to reporters last month.
The confrontation had heightened tensions between the two nations, which subsequently relaxed after a ceasefire overture from Pakistan. President Trump said he intervened decisively to cool the situation by using trade talks to convince both parties to back down. But New Delhi soon rebuffed any implication of the U.S. as a mediator.
Though officially presented as an attempt to further deepen military ties, it has generated controversy at home. Protests were held outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, where Munir resides, by supporters of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Demonstrators openly accused the Army Chief of human rights abuse, terming him "Pakistanio ke qatil" (killer of Pakistanis) and "Islamabad ke Katil" (butcher of Islamabad). The hotel entrance became a noisy protest spot, with slogans and chants resonating in the atmosphere.
A protester yelled "Geedad, geedad, geedad" — an Urdu insult comparing a person to a jackal, representing cowardice and treachery — as official cars arrived. The confrontation, which was filmed, became viral on social media and was considered a blow to the reputation of Pakistan's military leadership during already a delicate diplomatic foray.
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