Trump to host Pakistan army chief for lunch Wednesday

In a surprise diplomatic development, President Donald Trump is set to host Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, for lunch at the White House on Wednesday, according to the official presidential schedule.

The closed-door meeting will be held in the Cabinet Room and is not open to the press.

The high-profile invitation is being celebrated in Islamabad as a diplomatic breakthrough.

The lunch also comes amid heightened regional tensions following last month’s air combat between India and Pakistan — an escalation that briefly brought the two nuclear-armed neighbors to the brink of full-scale conflict.

A screenshot of President Trump's rota for Wednesday, June 18WhiteHouse

Michael Kugelman, South Asia analyst, called the meeting significant "especially as his administration considers its options" during the war in Iran.

"Senior U.S. officials often engage w/Pakistani army chiefs, but rarely is one hosted at the White House by the U.S. President," he said on X.

High-stakes visit

Munir arrived in Washington, D.C., on June 15 for a visit expected to end on June 18.

Though Pakistani officials have kept the visit’s official agenda under wraps for security reasons, analysts view the trip as part of a larger recalibration of U.S.-Pakistan ties, which have been uneven in recent years amid Washington’s deepening partnership with India and growing concerns over China’s regional clout.

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla recently called Pakistan a “phenomenal partner” in counterterrorism during testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

Kurilla also credited Pakistan’s military with neutralizing Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) militants near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, comments that suggest continued U.S. confidence in Pakistan’s military leadership.

Modi tells Trump: No US mediation in ceasefire with Pakistan

Meanwhile, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintained in a conversation with Trump late on Tuesday that the ceasefire between India and Pakistan was achieved through talks between the two militaries and not U.S. mediation, India's senior-most diplomat said.

"PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-U.S. trade deal or U.S. mediation between India and Pakistan," Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a press statement.

"Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do," he said.

Misri said the two leaders spoke over the phone at the insistence of Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada which Modi attended as a guest. The call lasted 35 minutes.

Trump had said last month that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the U.S., and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Modi-Trump call.