US President Donald Trump hosted a luncheon for Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir on Thursday, a rare event that the country's media bragged as "a huge diplomatic win". The meeting, initially slated for an hour, extended to two hours, and the topic of US interest was not India or the recent conflicts between the neighbours, but rather Iran.
The meeting and luncheon was a closed-door event in the Cabinet Room and interestingly, none from Pakistan's government attended the meeting. Neither the country's ambassador to the US nor Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was invited. The only person who managed to squeeze in was Pakistan’s top intelligence officer, Lt Gen Asim Malik, who also serves as national security adviser. From the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff accompanied Trump.
Though the Pakistani media attempted to portray the meeting as an unprecedented event, Trump had a clear motive behind inviting Munir to the US. The subject of interest was Iran and the ISPR acknowledged in its press statement that both had a "detailed exchange of views also took place on the prevailing tensions between Iran and Israel".
Trump too hinted Iran was the dominant topic. "Well, they know Iran very well, better than most, and they are not happy about anything," Trump said, referring to Pakistan's sharing borders with Iran. "It’s not that they are bad with Israel. They know them both, actually, but they probably, maybe they know Iran better, but they see what’s going on, and he agreed with me," Trump added.
Analysts believe Trump was attempting to ensure that he has Pakistan Army support to use its airspace and bases if the US goes to war against Iran. Karachi-based newspaper 'Dawn' said the "conversation was less about commitments and more about testing the waters", without mentioning Iran.
Despite the optics, many believe Pakistan will have to walk a tightrope balancing its diplomatic support for Iran and serving the interest of Trump. Islamabad has reiterated its support for Iran, stating it condemned what Israel was doing in Iran.
However, it quickly attempted to rubbish reports about Pakistan supporting Iran. "Any role to play at this point is speculative… we have not received any specific request for military support from Iran," Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters.
Ironically, the ISPR, the public relations wing of Pakistan's Army, has no qualms about diverting the topic to suit their narrative. "US-Pakistan relations have achieved in the last three days, what India could not achieve in three decades," it hilariously stated.
However, analysts see through the narrative. "There are no free lunches. Especially not the ones hosted in the White House," Dr Adil Sultan, dean at Islamabad’s Air University, told Dawn. "We should brace to become a frontline state once again," Sultan added.
