Islamabad, Aug 7 (IANS) Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir is expected to visit the United States this week to hold talks with his American counterparts, the country’s media reported on Thursday.
Munir’s visit to the US would be a return visit after US Central Command (CENTCOM) head General Michael Erik Kurilla’s visit to Pakistan in July, leading Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’ reported, citing sources. During his visit to Islamabad, General Kurilla was conferred Nishan-i-Imtiaz (military) by the Pakistani government.
It will be Munir’s second visit to the US after his recent trip to Washington in June. During the last visit, US President Donald Trump hosted Munir for lunch at the White House.
Pakistan military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations or Pakistan’s Embassy in the US have not yet announced the visit of Munir to Washington. However, Munir had previously hinted that he could travel to the US again later this year.
During his June visit, Munir held wide-ranging discussions with the US President at the White House, including on the enhancement of bilateral trade. Reports suggested that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Representative for Middle Eastern Affairs Steve Witkoff also took part in the meeting.
From the Pakistani side, Munir was accompanied by the Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt Gen Muhammad Asim Malik. According to the ISPR, the meeting, initially scheduled for one hour, extended for over two hours, “underscoring the depth and cordiality of the dialogue”.
Munir’s visit to the US was overshadowed by widespread protests led by members of the Pakistani diaspora and supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. While Munir’s visit was being projected as a step towards strengthening military and strategic ties with Washington, the backlash from overseas Pakistanis turned his stay at the luxury hotel in Washington into a scene of charged demonstrations.
Protesters chanted slogans accusing Munir of human rights violations, branding him as “Pakistanio ke qatil” and “Islamabad ke qatil” — meaning “killer of Pakistanis” and “killers of Islamabad”, respectively. A video widely circulated on social media showed one protester yelling, “Geedad, geedad, geedad (jackal, jackal, jackal)”, a derogatory term used to suggest cowardice and deceit. The clip quickly went viral and was described by analysts as a public embarrassment for the Pakistani military establishment.
–IANS
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