Trump hosts PM Shehbaz, Field Marshal Munir at Oval Office
WASHINGTON ( WEB NEWS )
US President Donald Trump hosted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir at the Oval Office in Washington, DC during the early hours of Friday morning.
US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were also present, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) after the meeting said. It added that the meeting was held in a pleasant atmosphere.
Photos released after the meeting showed both PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir exchanging views with Trump. Trump was also all smiles as he flashed his signature thumbs up sign during a group photo.
The meeting, which was closed to the press, was originally slated to begin at 4:30pm Washington time (1:30am PST) but was delayed by approximately 30 minutes as the US president spoke to reporters after signing executive orders. The meeting itself lasted approximately one hour and 20 minutes.
Photos from the White House press pool before it began showed PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir waiting patiently on the Oval Office’s gold-gilded furniture as, across the room, the US president wrapped up his previous engagement.
The army chief could also be seen speaking to White House staffers as media personnel packed up their equipment. When US Secretary of State Rubio entered the room, he could be seen enthusiastically greeting both leaders.
The visit, the first formal bilateral interaction between the two leaders, comes six years after former premier Imran Khan met Trump during the latter’s first term in July 2019.
Speaking to reporters before the meeting, Trump said that a “great leader” was coming to the White House.
“We’ve got the prime minister of Pakistan coming and the field marshal … [he’s] a great, great guy and so is the prime minister, both,” he told reporters.
President Trump was also conscious of the delay, telling the media: “They are coming and they may be in this room right now. I don’t know because we are late.”
Photos released after the meeting showed both PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir exchanging views with Trump. Trump was also all smiles as he flashed his signature thumbs up sign during a group photo.
The meeting, which was closed to the press, was originally slated to begin at 4:30pm Washington time (1:30am PST) but was delayed by approximately 30 minutes as the US president spoke to reporters after signing executive orders. The meeting itself lasted approximately one hour and 20 minutes.
Photos from the White House press pool before it began showed PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir waiting patiently on the Oval Office’s gold-gilded furniture as, across the room, the US president wrapped up his previous engagement.
The army chief could also be seen speaking to White House staffers as media personnel packed up their equipment. When US Secretary of State Rubio entered the room, he could be seen enthusiastically greeting both leaders.
The visit, the first formal bilateral interaction between the two leaders, comes six years after former premier Imran Khan met Trump during the latter’s first term in July 2019.