Washington DC: U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, played a very effective role in the recent ceasefire with India.
President Trump is scheduled to meet Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday. According to the official schedule released by the U.S. administration, the meeting will take place over lunch in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
When asked about the upcoming meeting with Field Marshal Asim Munir, President Trump stated,
“I stopped the war (between Pakistan and India). I love Pakistan. I think Modi is a wonderful person — we’re going to sign a trade agreement with his country, India.
On the Pakistani side, this man (Field Marshal Asim Munir) played a very effective role in the ceasefire between Pakistan and India.”
Earlier, local Pakistani media quoted security sources confirming that the meeting will be held at 1:00 PM U.S. local time, which corresponds to 10:00 PM in Pakistan. President Trump will host a formal luncheon in honor of Field Marshal Asim Munir.
It is worth noting that the last time a Pakistani Army Chief met a U.S. President was in 2010, when General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani met with President Barack Obama. Now, nearly 15 years later, a meeting between the heads of the two countries’ military establishments is once again taking place.
Meanwhile, India has once again denied President Trump’s claims of mediating a ceasefire.
According to British news agency Reuters, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri issued a statement on Wednesday, clarifying the ceasefire narrative between the two traditional rivals. He stated,
“There was a telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump on Tuesday night.”
“Prime Minister Modi told President Trump that the ceasefire, which followed four days of clashes between India and Pakistan in May, was the result of direct military-to-military talks between the two countries.”
President Trump had earlier claimed, on May 10, that he personally brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, saying,
“Pakistan and India were on the brink of nuclear war, but I stopped them through phone calls and trade.”
India, however, has repeatedly rejected any third-party mediation in matters concerning Pakistan. The phone call between President Trump and Prime Minister Modi was the first direct contact between the two nations following the border clashes that occurred between May 7 and May 10.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri concluded by saying,
“Prime Minister Modi made it clear to President Trump that at no point during that period was there any discussion on trade between India and the U.S., nor was there any conversation about mediation between India and Pakistan.”
