Photos, Please? Trump Meets Pak's Sharif - But White House Feed Says Nothing

(MENAFN- Live Mint) President Donald Trump praised Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the head of the country's army Asim Munir as great guys ahead of a White House meeting to strengthen ties amid cooling relations with India - Islamabad's main rival .

“The Pakistan-US partnership would be further strengthened to the mutual benefit of both countries,” according to a statement by the Prime Minister Sharif's office on Friday. The meeting was the latest in a series of high-level US engagements with Pakistan, as Trump presses India to scale back ties with Moscow and uses tariffs to pressure Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Trump, who hosted Munir for lunch at the White House in June, said at an event on Thursday:“Field Marshal is a very great guy, and so is the Prime Minister, both.”

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Munir is widely seen as the nation's most powerful leader, and Pakistan's army wields the final word on critical matters from foreign policy to internal politics and the economy.

Photos posted on X by the Pakistani government show Trump smiling and giving a thumbs-up alongside Sharif. The Pakistani leader is in the US for the United Nations General Assembly, and the White House meeting marked his first formal, in-person discussions with Trump since taking office last year.

Pakistani leaders have repeatedly praised Trump for his role during their conflict with India in May, crediting him with brokering a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbors. India has consistently denied the US helped secure the truce, while Islamabad has said it would nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Sharif“expressed his deep admiration for President Trump, describing him as a man of peace engaged in sincere efforts to end conflicts around the globe,” according to the Pakistani statement. The two leaders discussed regional security including counter-terrorism cooperation, it said.

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Trump and Sharif also met briefly on Tuesday when the US president and the emir of Qatar hosted a gathering of Arab and Islamic leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA. Trump called it his most important meeting of the day, saying the agenda included efforts to end the war in Gaza.

“We're getting pretty close to having a deal, and maybe even peace,” Trump said Thursday, when asked by reporters about the meeting.

Pakistan's security relations with the US have wavered from periods of close cooperation to chilly ties. The US over multiple administrations, meanwhile, has cultivated India as a regional partner and a bulwark against a more assertive China.

The US and Pakistan have been in talks to finalize details of a trade deal that would include investment commitments by Washington. Islamabad has already secured a tariff rate of 19% on its US exports, a lower rate than other nations in South Asia and well below India's 50% levy.

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Trump has said the US would work with Pakistan on developing“their massive oil reserves,” adding the US was in the process of choosing an oil company to lead the partnership.

Sharif invited Trump to visit Pakistan and asked US companies to invest in the South Asian nation's agriculture, IT, mines and minerals and energy sectors, Sharif's office said in the statement.

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The Pakistan-US partnership would be further strengthened to the mutual benefit of both countries Trump, a reset of ties is underway, as he seems to acknowledge Pakistan's geostrategic importance.

The US cut military aid to Pakistan in 2018 and ties worsened over drone strikes and Washington's embrace of India. Relations sank further under President Joe Biden, with little high-level contact, former Pakistani Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said.

The official visit“reflects Washington's significantly changed attitude towards Pakistan,” she said.“With Trump, a reset of ties is underway, as he seems to acknowledge Pakistan's geostrategic importance in the region as well as in the Middle East.”

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