ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan is all set to visit the White House on Monday for his first face-to-face talks with President Donald Trump.
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa will also be part of PM Khan’s delegation during his meeting with Trump at the White House, military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor confirmed.
Bajwa will also visit the Pentagon and interact with Acting Secretary Defense Mr. Richard Spencer, US Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff General Joseph Dunford and Chief of Staff of the US Army General Mark A Milley, Ghafoor tweeted.
Khan embarked on his maiden trip to the US on Sunday in a bit to mend bilateral ties.
Last year, the US had cut security aid to Pakistan accusing the country of “lies and deceit” while Khan called the US assistance “minuscule” in comparison to the cost borne by Pakistan in fighting the US-led war on terror.
During his official three-day visit, the Pakistani premier held separate talks with IMF acting chief David Lipton and World Bank President David Malpass.
According to the PM’s office, Khan thanked the IMF Board of Directors for approving the recent Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan during his meeting with Lipton at the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington on Sunday.
“Prime Minister pointed out that reforms implemented under the IMF program will be instrumental in stabilizing the economy and reviving growth,” the official statement read. Khan “expressed his government’s commitment to take all necessary measures needed to resolve the macroeconomic and structural challenges for sustainable and long-term growth.”
Earlier this month, Pakistan signed a $6 billion loan program from IMF which has come with stringent economic reform conditions.
In a meeting with President of the World Bank, Khan appreciated the tremendous support extended by the Bank in different sectors of Pakistan’s economy over the years.
“While highlighting government’s reform priorities including improving the ease-of-doing-business, the Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with assistance and stewardship being provided by the World Bank,” a statement by the PM Office read.
Khan expressed hope that the Bank would roll forward the pipeline projects and assured the Bank’s President of his government’s support in this regard.
The premier’s visit comes at a time when talks between the US and Afghan Taliban are believed to have entered a final phase where Islamabad played its role in arranging Washington’s direct peace dialogue with Taliban.
Khan also addressed Pakistani Americans at Capital One Arena in Washington on Sunday where he spoke about domestic politics and economic challenges confronting the country.
Pakistan PM to meet President Trump today
Pakistan PM to meet President Trump today
- Premier Khan is on an official visit to US accompanied by the army chief
- Wide-ranging talks to mend bilateral ties, regional security situation on the agenda
Pakistan’s Sharif hopes to further ties with Bangladesh as Rahman takes oath as PM
- Tarique Rahman’s election comes amid a thaw in relations between Pakistan and Bangladesh
- Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal also met Rahman after oath-taking, invited him to visit Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said he hoped to further strengthen relations with Bangladesh as Tarique Rahman took oath as the country’s new premier.
Rahman was sworn in on Tuesday after his Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s landslide win in parliamentary elections last week, the country’s first since the massive 2024 uprising and a vote billed as key to the nation’s future political landscape after years of intense rivalry and disputed polls.
The 60-year-old, whose term will last for five years, is the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and former president Ziaur Rahman. He is also Bangladesh’s first male prime minister in 35 years. Since 1991, when Bangladesh returned to democracy, either Rahman’s mother or her archrival Sheikh Hasina had served as PMs.
His election as PM comes at a time when Pakistan and Bangladesh appear to be coming increasingly closer, following a thaw in their relations since the ouster of Hasina, who was widely viewed as an India ally. Ties between Bangladesh and New Delhi remain strained over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina.
“Warmest felicitations to Tarique Rahman on having been sworn in as the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,” Pakistan’s Sharif said on X Tuesday evening.
“I look forward to close and meaningful engagements with my brother, to further strengthen our bilateral cooperation across mutually beneficial areas and to deepen the historic ties between our two countries.”
Earlier in the day, Pakistani Planning Miniter Ahsan Iqbal called on Rahman after his oath-taking ceremony in Dhaka and conveyed warm congratulations on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan on his election, according to the Pakistani information ministry.
“He extended best wishes for the peace, progress and prosperity of Bangladesh under his leadership,” the ministry said. “Iqbal conveyed a formal invitation from the prime minister of Pakistan to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at a mutually convenient date.”
Pakistan and Bangladesh were part of the same country until Bangladesh’s secession following a bloody civil war in 1971. However, Islamabad and Dhaka have lately been looking to strengthen institutional linkages to broaden their cooperation, following a reset of ties.
