Islamabad:
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday he was honored to meet Field Marshal Asim Munir in an unprecedented meeting of the White House and credited him to help stop the war between Pakistan and India.
Trump’s lunch with Field Marshal Asim Munir represented a big boost in the US-Pakistan bands, which had largely disappeared under Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, both of whom diligently broke India as part of the efforts to push back against China.
In a speech with journalists in the Oval Office after the meeting, Trump said the discussion affected several important regional questions, including Iran.
“They know Iran very well, better than most,” Trump noted, noting that although Pakistan is not in line with Israel, it understands both countries and their dynamics. “Maybe they know Iran better, but they see what’s going on and he agreed with me,” he said.
Trump said the primary reason for hosting the army chief was to thank him for avoiding further escalation with India and helping to put an end to tension. “I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and just ending the war,” Trump said.
It is rare for Trump to praise any visitors foreign worthy, as most foreign leaders had very bad experience meeting the US president.
Trump mentioned that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also recently visited the White House. He said the United States worked with trade agreements with both Pakistan and India. “We are working a trade agreement with India. We are working a trade agreement with Pakistan. They were both here.”
By reflecting on the broader implications of regional peace, Trump said, “It could have been a nuclear war. These are two nuclear forces – large, large, great nuclear power.”
He emphasized the role of leadership in drafting tensions and said, “Two smart people … decided not to continue with that war.”
Trump concluded by saying he was “honored” to meet the Pakistani military leader.
When asked what he would achieve from the meeting, Trump told journalists in the White House: “Well, I stopped a war … I love Pakistan. I think (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is an amazing man. I spoke to him last night. We will enter into a trade agreement with Modi of India.
“But I stopped the war between Pakistan and India. This man was extremely influential to stop it from the Pakistan side, Modi from India and others,” he did, referring to Munir.
“They went on it – and they are both nuclear countries. I got it stopped.”
Pakistan and India became involved in a four-day conflict in May and exchanged missiles and drones for the first time since both sides became nuclear forces in 1998.
The military conflict was triggered by India, launching missile attacks inside Pakistan after the Pahagam attack.
The two sides agreed on a ceasefire brokered by the United States. Since then, President Trump repeatedly took the honor of averting a greater war between the two nuclear forces, much to the irritation of India.
The meeting lasts for over two hours, and questions relating to the bilateral ties in Pakistan-USA were the recent India-Pakistan stresses and the current situation in the Middle East some of the agenda’s goods.
It was for the first time every US president hosted a Pakistani Army Chief of the White House. President Barrack Obama fell into the strategic dialogue in Pakistan-US and held a brief informal meeting with then Army Chief Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani.
But no US president hosted the Pakistani Army Chief solely before. No official declaration was issued by the Pakistani, but sources said the meeting was held in a heartfelt atmosphere and the army chief expected to hold more meetings with other US officials.
