Is President Trump poised to visit Pakistan in September?

By Sundas Riaz

ISLAMABAD: In a major political development, it is being reported that US President Trump would be visiting Pakistan in the second half of September, according to official sources of Geo TV. The Foreign Office or the State Department is yet to confirm this as news has also surfaced that Trump is supposed to be in the UK on similar dates. Geo TV‘s reporter Azaz Syed later added that the dates could not be confirmed owing to the security but that President trump would be visiting Pakistan.

In case this happens, it will be the first visit of Donald Trump to Pakistan, and it has been nearly 20 years since any US president visited the country. According to sources, President Trump will be arriving in Islamabad on September 18, making a brief stopover after attending a conference in neighbouring India.

According to Express News, Senior politician and former Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed also commented on the matter, stating, “I have received information that former President Trump will visit Pakistan for a few hours.”

President George W. Bush was the last ever US president to visit Pakistan during the tenure of General Pervez Musharraf in 2006.

Last month, US President Donald Trump hosted Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House in a rare and historic meeting, where he lauded the Pakistani military chief for his vital role in preventing a potential war between Pakistan and India. During the meeting he also expressed his love for Pakistan. Trump told reporters at the White House: “Well, I stopped a war … I love Pakistan.”

This marked the first time a US president welcomed a Pakistani army chief alone at the White House, a signal of Pakistan’s rising significance in Washington’s foreign policy agenda.