In a significant and unanticipated diplomatic development, President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Pakistan\u2019s Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, for lunch at the White House on Wednesday. The meeting, listed on the president\u2019s official schedule, will be held in the Cabinet Room and closed to the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lunch is being seen in Islamabad as a major diplomatic win \u2014 particularly because earlier this month, an Indian delegation met US Vice President JD Vance , and Indian media depicted it as a diplomatic success, contrasting it with the apparent inability of the Pakistani delegation to secure a similar meeting. Munir\u2019s invitation to the White House is now being projected by officials in Islamabad as a diplomatic counterpoint to those narratives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This development also marks a notable success for Pakistan in the ongoing diplomatic contest that followed last month\u2019s air combat with India \u2014 a confrontation that brought South Asia dangerously close to nuclear conflict.<\/a> Munir is in the US on a five-day official visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Field Marshal Munir, who was elevated to Pakistan\u2019s rare five-star rank<\/a> last month \u2014 the first such promotion since Ayub Khan in 1959 \u2014 has made headlines during his trip, urging India to engage with Pakistan \u201cas a civilized nation<\/a>,\u201d rather than attempting to impose regional hegemony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking to members of the Pakistani American community on Monday evening, he strongly rejected Indian claims that Pakistan was behind the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, calling it a pretext for cross-border aggression. He accused India of seeking to establish a dangerous \u201cnew normal\u201d of violating international borders, which Pakistan had forcefully rejected. \u201cWe would rather embrace martyrdom than accept this dishonor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The interaction at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington\u2019s Georgetown neighbourhood drew a large and enthusiastic crowd, with supporters showering the army chief with rose petals and chanting slogans in his praise. Protesters aligned with the opposition PTI party demonstrated outside, calling for democratic reforms and the release of jailed leaders, but their voices were largely drowned out inside the venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his remarks, Munir also addressed the broader regional landscape, declaring Pakistan\u2019s \u201cclear and strong\u201d support for Iran in its war with Israel while also backing US efforts to de-escalate the situation. \u201cWe want this war to end immediately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the most consequential developments during Munir\u2019s visit, however, has been Pakistan\u2019s strengthened counterterrorism partnership with the United States \u2014 particularly against the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) group. On Tuesday, Gen Michael Kurilla, head of US Central Command, described Pakistan as a \u201cphenomenal partner<\/a>\u201d in the fight against IS-K, praising Islamabad\u2019s operations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gen. Kurilla revealed to the House Armed Services Committee that Pakistani operations, supported by US intelligence, had killed dozens of IS-K militants and captured multiple high-value individuals, including Mohammad Sharifullah, one of the masterminds of the Abbey Gate bombing<\/a> in Kabul that killed 13 American troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe first person Munir called was me,\u201d Gen Kurilla said. \u201cHe said, \u2018I\u2019ve caught him \u2014 ready to extradite him back to the US Please tell the Secretary of Defence and the President\u2019.\u201d Sharifullah was promptly extradited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a separate statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kurilla noted that Pakistan had conducted \u201cdozens of operations\u201d to dismantle IS-K\u2019s presence in the border regions and continues to play a pivotal role in countering terrorism in Central and South Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Centcom chief\u2019s comments reflect a growing acknowledgment in Washington that Pakistan remains essential to regional stability. As Kurilla noted, while the Taliban have pushed IS-K militants into the tribal areas, these sanctuaries still allow the group to plan and plot attacks not just against regional allies, but also the US homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n