Another Embarrassment For Asim Munir: White House Dismisses Hype Over Pakistan Army Chief's US Parade Invite

White House officials clarified, “These claims are untrue. No foreign military leaders were invited,” a spokesperson told 5WH, quashing rumours that Munir was to be a guest of honour.

Political war in India over invitation

The statement followed several media reports suggesting Munir had been invited, prompting criticism from Indian analysts and opposition parties, who viewed the alleged invitation as a diplomatic affront. The reported invitation turned out to be a political war in New Delhi, where the Opposition leaders called it a "diplomatic failure".

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Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tore into the Centre, asserting that the development was a huge setback for Indian diplomacy. Pointing towards the relationship between the Indian PM Narendra Modi and his US counterpart, Ramesh said this was a big setback, notwithstanding that PM Modi was invited to the US for ‘Howdy Modi’ while Trump was felicitated in India during ‘Namaste Trump’.

US Army's 250th anniversary

The event is expected to feature approximately 6,600 soldiers, 150 military vehicles, and over 50 aircraft. The most recent time the US hosted a military parade was in 1991, to mark the end of the Gulf War. The National Victory parade featured around 8,000 service members, and about 2,00,000 people watched the parade. According to The Washington Post, the event cost USD 8 million, as per CBS News.

Pakistan Is Our Phenomenal Partner In Counter-Terrorism’: US CENTCOM Chief

Earlier on Wednesday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General Michael “Erik” Kurilla described Pakistan as a “phenomenal partner” in the global fight against terrorism. His remarks came during a congressional hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, just weeks after India intensified its diplomatic push to expose Pakistan’s role in supporting cross-border terrorism, following the deadly Pahalgam attack in April.

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General Kurilla, who is set to retire this summer, cited Pakistan’s role in combating ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) militants, particularly along the Afghan-Pakistani border. "Right now, what we saw is the Taliban going after ISIS-K... They hate each other and pushed a lot of them into the tribal areas on the Afghan-Pakistan border," Kurilla said. "Through a phenomenal partnership with Pakistan, they have gone after ISIS-K, killing dozens of them."

(With inputs from agency)