Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir were kept waiting for a while at the Oval Office ahead of their meeting with US President Donald Trump on Friday.
In a press conference ahead of their meeting, the President seemed unsure of where the two Pakistani leaders may be, admitting he was “late” for the meeting. “They may be in this room right now, I don’t know because we’re late…they actually may be somewhere in the beautiful Oval Office,” Trump said. Trump also described both Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir as “great guys”.
News agency Associated Press reported that Sharif arrived at the White House just before 5 pm local time, while Trump was signing executive orders. His meeting, alongside Asim Munir, reportedly took place behind closed doors, following which the Pakistani delegation left the White House, at about 6:18 pm. However, the White House is yet to release any official pictures from Donald Trump’s meeting with Sharif and Munir.
While it is unclear how long Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir had to wait for Donald Trump, the Pakistan PM’s Office said that the meeting was delayed by nearly 30 minutes, reported news agency ANI.
Shehbaz Sharif and Asim Munir’s meeting with Donald Trump comes amid heightened tensions between India and the US over trade negotiations and sweeping 50 per cent tariffs on imports.
This marks the first time Donald Trump has hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House since he took office. However, Trump had previously welcomed Asim Munir at the White House in June, where he was also hosted for lunch.
The June meeting had also grabbed eyeballs back in India, as it came just two months after the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives. The previous meeting between Asim Munir and Donald Trump also followed the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that the US President repeatedly claimed to have brokered.
In the US to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Shehbaz Sharif made a short trip from New York to Washington, DC, for his meeting with President Trump. The Pakistani PM is scheduled to deliver an address from the UNGA podium on Friday.
