US President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for a working lunch at the White House, according to the president’s official schedule.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday in the Cabinet Room and will be closed to the press.
Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the engagement.
The lunch is being seen in Islamabad as a major diplomatic win, particularly because earlier this month, an Indian delegation met US Vice President JD Vance and Indian media depicted it as a diplomatic success.
Commenting on the development, Pakistan’s ex-foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has hailed the scheduled meeting as a “positive step” in bilateral relations between the US and Pakistan.
Munir, who was promoted to the rank of field marshal last month, is currently on an official five-day visit to the US, which is Pakistan's largest export market.
The visit came amid rising tensions between the two South Asian rivals, following last month’s military standoff that brought them close to the brink of open conflict.
First high-level engagement in Trump’s 2nd term
Addressing members of the Pakistani American community in Washington on Monday, Munir urged India to engage “as a civilised nation,” instead of seeking regional “hegemony.”
The meeting between Trump and Munir also follows the escalation of hostilities in the Middle East after Israeli strikes on Iran, further elevating the global security context.
It will mark the first high-level bilateral engagement between Islamabad and Washington since Trump returned to the White House in January.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Trump invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the US after the conclusion of G7 Summit in Canada's Calgary, but Modi declined due to prior commitments.
