- By Ajeet Kumar
- Thu, 25 Sep 2025 08:51 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Trump-Shehbaz Meeting Today: US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, a Trump administration official told news agency Reuters on Wednesday, with the meeting coming weeks after the two countries agreed to a trade deal. Later the White House also confirmed the scheduled meeting between the two leaders.
Shehbaz Sharif's first meeting with Trump
It will be the first meeting between the US President and the Pakistani Prime Minister at the White House since July 2019, when then-prime minister Imran Khan travelled to Washington and met President Trump. Trump's successor, President Joe Biden, completely ignored Pakistan during his tenure and never even talked to any of the prime ministers on the phone, let alone inviting them to the White House.
(White House confirms Trump-Shehbaz Sharif meeting)
Why Trump wants to improve relations with Pakistan
Since President Trump took office in January, there has been a dramatic and unexpected shift in the Pakistan-US relationship. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar attended a meeting of Arab-Islamic leaders hosted by President Trump, alongside leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Turkiye, and Indonesia. After the meeting, Shehbaz exchanged pleasantries with Trump. A handshake and a candid conversation marked their interaction.
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The Trump-Shehbaz meeting on Thursday comes against the backdrop of a noticeable thaw in relations between Islamabad and Washington. Pakistan has backed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in de-escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, although Islamabad has condemned US ally Israel's bombardments in Gaza, Qatar, and Iran.
US-Pakistan ties have warmed in recent months under Trump after Washington had for years viewed Pakistan's rival India as a counter to China's influence in Asia. Washington's relations with New Delhi have been tested under the Republican leader over issues such as visa hurdles for Indians, high tariff rates imposed by Trump on goods from India and Trump's repeated claims that he brokered an India-Pakistan ceasefire in May after the South Asian neighbors engaged in their latest hostilities.
Trump welcomed Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir earlier this year, the first time a U.S. president hosted the head of Pakistan's army - widely regarded as the most powerful figure in the country - at the White House, unaccompanied by senior Pakistani civilian officials. "We're working through a number of issues when it comes to counter-terrorism, when it comes to economic and trade ties," a senior State Department official told reporters in a briefing on Tuesday when asked about Pakistan.
Why does the Trump-Shehbaz meeting cause concern for India?
The United States and Pakistan announced a trade deal on July 31 with a 19 per cent tariff rate imposed by Washington. Trump is yet to reach a trade deal with India. Officials and analysts have noted that after tensions with Washington, New Delhi is recalibrating relations with China as a hedge.
"And so the president remains focused on advancing US interests in the region, that includes through engaging with Pakistan and their government leaders," the official said. When asked about frictions with India, the official said Trump believed in being frank about frustrations in ties but the relationship was strong. Washington viewed New Delhi as a good friend and partner and believed their relationship would define the 21st century, the official said.
They added that Washington had been working on planning for a summit of the Quad grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the United States that India had been expected to hold in November. That would happen, "if not this year, early next year," the official said.
(With inputs from Reuters and PTI)