US President Donald Trump on Sunday showered praise on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir for their relentless efforts to mediate talks between the US and Iran.
Talking during a phone conversation with Fox News on the peace talks with Iran, Trump said Prime Minister Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir were “great people,” adding that he had “great respect” for the top Pakistani leadership.
Trump said he decided to cancel the planned visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner because the talks in Islamabad involved too much travel and expenses.
“If they [Iranians] want to talk, they can come to us or they can call us. You know, there’s a phone. We have nice, safe lines,” he added.
Despite cutting short the trip, the US president said he had great respect for Prime Minister Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir for making tireless efforts to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
Trump noted that the Pakistani mediators will remain involved in the negotiation process between Washington and Tehran.
The US president has repeatedly praised Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership for facilitating talks between Washington and Tehran.
Earlier, he praised the “friendly and very competent leadership” of the army chief and the prime minister for hosting the first round of talks in Islamabad on April 11.
“The [PM Shehbaz and the field marshal] are very extraordinary men and I thank myself constantly for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a terrible war with India,” he had added.
Pakistan’s push to bring Iran and the United States to the negotiating table for their highest-level face-to-face talks in decades to end weeks of war has drawn international praise.
In Islamabad, Field Marshal Munir was at the center of the action – greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with US Vice President JD Vance.
Trump often refers to CDF Munir as his “favorite field marshal”, following a report that was built during US efforts to end a brief but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and rival India last year.
