ISLAMABAD: A White House official said on Wednesday there was no meeting scheduled between US President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, after a Reuters report cited sources saying Munir is expected to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for talks that could focus on a proposed multinational force for post-war security and aid delivery in Gaza.
Trump’s Gaza plan, outlined as part of a 20-point framework, envisages the deployment of troops from Muslim-majority countries during a transitional stabilization phase, intended to support security and governance as the war-ravaged Palestinian territory moves toward reconstruction and a longer-term political settlement.
Reuters reported that Washington saw Pakistan as a potentially significant contributor given its battle-hardened military, which has fought a brief but intense conflict with India this year and continues to combat insurgencies in its remote regions, adding that the visit would mark Munir’s third meeting with Trump in six months.
“This is not on the President’s calendar at this time,” a White House official said on background, responding to an Arab News query about a possible Trump-Munir meeting.
Munir has met Trump twice in recent months. In June, he was invited to a White House luncheon, an unusual and unprecedented interaction in which a US president hosted a Pakistani military leader without the presence of civilian authorities.
A second meeting took place in October, when Trump hosted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and publicly thanked Munir – whom he described as his “favorite” field marshal – for Pakistan’s efforts toward peace in Gaza, alongside leaders of other Muslim nations.
Pakistan this week reiterated its position the situation in West Asia during an open debate at the UN Security Council, calling for a “time-bound and irreversible” political process anchored in relevant UN resolutions that would lead to the establishment of a sovereign, independent and contiguous Palestinian state.
Islamabad and Washington have meanwhile sought to repair ties after years of strained relations, with both sides working to boost bilateral trade and investment following what officials have described as a favorable tariff deal.
