The White House’s strange quiet during the meeting between US President Donald Trump, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Army Chief General Asim Munir in the Oval Office has sparked controversy.
In contrast to most high-level contacts, Washington did not release any official images or recordings. Speculation has been sparked by this omission, particularly because the White House earlier in the day announced President Trump’s meeting with Turkish President Recep Erdogan, complete with joint briefing and images.
US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attended the “pleasant atmosphere” meeting, according to the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
However, the PMO also pointed out that because President Trump was finalizing executive orders, the session was closed to the media and postponed by about an hour. US media only showed Sharif and Munir waiting outside the West Wing before being brought in, despite Pakistani social media accounts sharing pictures of the encounter.
Since Trump’s return to office, this meeting is the first official bilateral encounter between a Pakistani leader and the president. It takes place six years after Trump’s first term in 2019 and former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s trip to Washington. Sharif is in the United States mainly to attend the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, therefore the timing is significant.
Sharper claims from India have coupled with the opacity of the engagement. Speaking at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in New York, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized the threat posed by terrorism on a worldwide scale.
He emphasized that worldwide collaboration against such networks is essential to preserving peace and progress, saying that the international community cannot accept or condone terrorism without mentioning Pakistan.
The Trump-Sharif meeting has wider strategic ramifications for South Asia. Long characterized by cyclical cycles of military cooperation and diplomatic alienation, US-Pakistan ties seem to be reviving. This rapid resurgence has emerged as a significant “tension point” in India-US relations, according to South Asia scholar Michael Kugelman.
Even though New Delhi acknowledges Washington’s capacity to keep up relations with Islamabad, the swift restoration of military and political ties between the two has sparked worries given the already strained India-US relationship.
This rekindled friendship between Washington and Islamabad comes at a critical moment for India. The relationship between the US and India is already strained by disagreements over trade, technology, and geopolitical views. The brief glimpse of Sharif and Munir being greeted at the White House heightens concerns that Washington would return to its old South Asian balancing act, giving Pakistan more legitimacy at India’s expense.
Essentially, the Trump-Sharif-Munir meeting’s political significance has been heightened by its lack of openness. There is room for speculation about what might have been discussed behind closed doors because the lack of formal White House communication stands in stark contrast to the treatment given to other foreign leaders. Given India’s repeated demands for a zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, this incident is probably going to exacerbate strategic concerns in New Delhi and put the tenacity of India-US relations to the test.
