By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday flatly denied reports that the country’s top military leader, Field Marshal Asim Munir, planned to travel soon to Washington for talks with President Donald J. Trump, potentially on a proposed multinational force to stabilise Gaza.
The denial, delivered by the office’s spokesman, Tahir Andrabi, during a weekly news briefing, contradicted a Reuters account from the previous day that cited two sources, including one described as a key figure in the military’s economic diplomacy. That report suggested Field Marshal Munir, who serves as both chief of army staff and chief of defence forces, would fly to the United States in the coming weeks to discuss the Gaza mission.
“The Reuters story was showing as if the visit had been planned, and there was a finality about it,” Andrabi said. “So, I am contradicting that and I’m contradicting the fact that a visit has been agreed or planned.” He emphasised that he lacked any details on such a trip and that Pakistan would announce high-level visits by its leaders only through official channels.
“The fact is that this is information that I do not have, about the timing or any future visit that might take place,” Andrabi added. “We obviously will wait for an official announcement that the Government of Pakistan makes about such a visit.”
A White House official, speaking to the Saudi news outlet Arab News on background, echoed the uncertainty, saying no meeting was scheduled between Trump and Field Marshal Munir “at this time.”
The exchange comes amid broader speculation about Pakistan’s potential role in Trump’s 20-point framework for Gaza, which calls for troops from Muslim-majority nations to provide security during a transitional phase aimed at reconstruction and a political settlement in the territory devastated by war. International reports have highlighted Pakistan as a candidate, citing its experienced military, which waged a short but fierce conflict with India earlier this year and battles ongoing insurgencies in border areas.
But Andrabi made clear that Islamabad had neither committed to the so-called International Stabilization Force nor fielded a direct invitation. “We have not taken a sovereign decision to participate in ISF as yet,” he said. “I am not aware of any specific request made to Pakistan. We will inform you about any development if it takes place.”
He described Gaza-related talks as occurring in “certain capitals” and within forums like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations Security Council, but not as a dedicated proposal. “These discussions come up in the broader context of how to stabilize Gaza and ensure peace, but not as a specific, formal proposal,” Andrabi said. Pakistan, he added, backs initiatives for stability in the region but would weigh any involvement based on its own national interests.
Field Marshal Munir, currently in Libya to bolster defence links with Tripoli, as announced by the military’s public relations arm, has made three trips to the United States this year alone. In June, he dined with Trump at the White House in a historic solo visit by a Pakistani army chief, without accompanying civilian leaders. His August journey focused on high-level meetings with American political and military figures, as well as the Pakistani community abroad, which he called a “new dimension” in bilateral relations.
In September, Field Marshal Munir joined Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for another White House session with Trump on counterterrorism and regional security. Ahead of that encounter, the president praised the visitors to reporters. “We’ve got the prime minister of Pakistan coming, and the field marshal … [he’s] a great, great guy and so is the prime minister, both.”
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