US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was “honoured” to meet Pakistan Army chief General Asim Munir and thanked him for not entering the war with India, calling both nations “very smart” for avoiding conflict.
Speaking after their meeting, Trump said, “The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and ending the war. Prime Minister Modi just left a little while ago, and we are working a trade deal with India,”
“We are working a trade deal with Pakistan…. I am so happy. Two smart people, two very smart people decided not to keep going with the war. Those are two big nuclear powers. I was honoured to meet him today,” he added.
Trump hosted Asim Munir for a lunch meeting at the White House on Wednesday, the first such meeting between a US President and the head of Pakistan’s military, held without accompanying senior civilian officials.
‘He agreed with me’: Trump on discussing Iran with Asim
Donald Trump also confirmed that he discussed Iran with Asim Munir during their White House meeting.
“They know Iran very well, better than most, and they’re not happy about anything,” Trump said. “They see what’s going on. And he agreed with me,” he added, without elaborating.
On Monday, Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar told parliament that Iran was willing to return to the negotiating table if Israel stopped further strikes.
“Our intention was always to see successful negotiations between the United States and Iran,” Dar said, citing direct communication with his Iranian counterpart.
Atomic cooperation between Iran and Pakistan stretches back decades. International nuclear watchdogs and other agencies have accused Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme, of sharing centrifuge designs and components with Iran and other countries.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a weekend social media post that he had spoken with Iran’s president “to express Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the brotherly people of Iran in the face of Israel’s unprovoked aggression.”
At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, he urged: “The international community should immediately make efforts to put an end to this war.”
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