People gathering in support of Pakistan Army, day after the ceasefire announcement between India and Pakistan, in Islamabad in May. — Reuters
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.)
