COULD one lunch in Washington cause so much dyspepsia in Delhi, or indigestion in Islamabad?
On June 18, 2025, US President Donald Trump invited Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir for a private meal in the White House’s Cabinet Room. He set five places: for himself, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and an aide. The field marshal sat with Lt-Gen Asim Malik, Inter-Services Intelligence head and Pakistan’s national security adviser. There was no place for a representative of Pakistan’s elected government. (Later, Rubio deadened Islamabad’s pique by phoning Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.)
