Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir to meet Donald Trump over lunch today

In a development that is being watched intently in Asia, US President Donald Trump will meet Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir over a closed-door lunch at the White House on Wednesday.

India deftly avoided Trump’s last night’s invite to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to stop-over in the US on his way back from Canada.

On Wednesday morning, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri released a video that pre-empted any statement from Trump-Munir meet which could have shown the US as intervening in the India-Pakistan dispute over Kashmir.

Misri read out the contents of a telephone call Modi and Trump had last night and quoted Modi saying, “India has never accepted mediation, does not accept it, and will never accept it. There is complete political unanimity in India on the issue.”

The lunch meet is scheduled for 1 pm on Wednesday (around 10.30 pm IST) where no press is allowed.

The timing of the Trump-Munir meeting holds significance as it is happening amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Pakistan shares a land border with Iran, which is strategically crucial for the US, especially if Trump decides to get directly involved in the conflict.

Islamabad had allowed the US to use its air bases in the 1980s when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and another time when the US sent troops to fight the Taliban post the bombing of the World Trade Centre.

The Pak Army chief is also expected to meet Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. The visit comes just weeks after India and Pakistan were locked in a skirmish and New Delhi accused Pakistan of being hand-in glove with terror organisations.