All eyes on White House as PM Shehbaz, Trump set for meeting today

A senior US administration official confirmed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, according to Reuters.

Sharif is currently in New York leading Pakistan’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly. Earlier this week, he took part in an Arab-Islamic leaders’ summit hosted jointly by President Trump and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, where he also held brief informal discussions with the US president.

The upcoming White House meeting comes only weeks after Washington and Islamabad finalised a new trade agreement, signaling a shift in bilateral engagement.

Relations between the two countries have shown notable improvement in recent months, with the Trump administration reassessing Pakistan’s role in the region after years of leaning on India as a strategic counterbalance to China.

Read more: PM Shehbaz to participate in meeting of 'select' Muslim leaders with Trump

In June, Trump also welcomed Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, to the White House, the first time a Pakistani military leader has been officially received by a US president.

Pakistan, in turn, has voiced support for Trump’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his efforts to defuse tensions between Islamabad and New Delhi.