WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, for lunch at the White House on Wednesday. The meeting marked the first time a sitting U.S. president has received a serving Pakistani army chief at the White House without senior civilian officials present—an unprecedented development in U.S.-Pakistan relations.
“I was honored to meet him today,” Trump told reporters following the meeting. He added that the visit was a gesture of appreciation for Munir’s role in preventing an escalation between Pakistan and India earlier this year, which he suggested could have spiraled into a nuclear conflict. “These two very smart people decided not to keep going with a war that could have been a nuclear war,” Trump said, also crediting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for exercising restraint.
The meeting is being viewed in Islamabad as a major diplomatic win, particularly after recent visits by Indian officials to Washington had led some observers to question Pakistan’s influence in the U.S. capital. According to The Dawn, the visit was the result of “unorthodox efforts” by a network of advisers, business figures, and Republican-aligned lobbying firms. The initiative had reportedly been under wraps for months until it appeared on the president’s official schedule the day before the lunch.
While the Iran-Israel conflict was part of the discussion, Trump noted that Pakistan’s regional insights were a key reason for the engagement. “They [Pakistan] know Iran very well, better than most… and they’re not happy about anything,” he said.
Munir, elevated to the rarely awarded five-star rank of Field Marshal last month—the first since Ayub Khan in 1959—advocated Pakistan’s public stance for peace in the region. In remarks to the Pakistani American community in Washington, he stated India should act “as a civilized nation” and rejected Indian accusations of Pakistani involvement in a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. Indian diplomats, however, not only met with Vice President J.D. Vance about Pahalgam, but a wide range of members of Congress who agree with India’s account of the attack.
Munir’s remarks come amid heightened tensions following last month’s air combat clash between India and Pakistan. The brief but intense conflict reportedly brought the region close to the brink of nuclear escalation. Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari called Munir’s visit a “positive step” in restoring balance in South Asia diplomacy. “Following Pakistan’s decisive victory in the recent five-day war, India has regrettably resisted all efforts toward a permanent peace,” Bhutto-Zardari said in a statement.
The meeting signals strengthened counterterrorism cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan. Recently, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Gen. Michael Kurilla said Pakistan has become a “phenomenal partner” in the fight against Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K). Kurilla told the House Armed Services Committee that Pakistan, aided by U.S. intelligence, has carried out dozens of operations along the Afghanistan border. One of these led to the capture and extradition of Mohammad Sharifullah, a mastermind behind the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing in Kabul that killed 13 U.S. troops.
“The first person Munir called was me,” Kurilla said. “He said, ‘I’ve caught him—ready to extradite him to the U.S.’”
Beyond counterterrorism, the two sides reportedly discussed cooperation in critical minerals, crypto-regulation, and regional diplomacy, including the situation in Kashmir. South Asia analyst Michael Kugelman noted that Munir’s broad authority and Trump’s interest in these areas created room for substantive dialogue.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly later confirmed that the visit also followed Munir’s call for Trump to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in preventing a potential nuclear war.
As Munir concludes his five-day U.S. visit, the interaction is already being portrayed in Islamabad as a strategic counter to India’s recent diplomatic engagements in Washington.
