US-Pakistan ties: When geopolitics is the entree for lunch

The recent invitation to the Pakistani army chief for a meal with Trump at the White House points to significant shifts in bilateral ties and US geopolitical calculations.

- Ravi Velloor

Amid all the excitement preceding the American air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities, including Mr. Donald Trump's early departure from the Group of 7 meetings, perhaps nothing caught so much attention as an unprecedented lunch the US President hosted on June 18 for Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

So closely followed was that meeting by the press and on social media that what they ate became a source of memes and scrutiny — it's lamb and caramelized onions for an entree — as well as disinformation (a fake White House menu circulated that claimed Mr. Trump served pork dishes to the general, a Muslim).

Previous Pakistani military chiefs who dined at the White House had been part of a bigger entourage headed by their political masters. General Munir not only had the rare privilege of dining with the President himself — apparently, the Pakistani envoy to Washington was kept away — the one-hour repast was followed by Mr. Trump walking the general into the Oval Office for further discussions.

As there have been no readouts, or photographs of the event, interpretation must rely on informed guesswork. But there are clues. Both men appeared satisfied with their encounter. Mr. Trump said later that the general was "very impressive." The general himself went on to make a stridently anti-India speech — indulging his pet peeve — at an embassy dinner that night.

PAKISTAN BACK IN PLAY The excitement over a lunch is understandable in that it highlights the rehabilitation to the US strategic calculus of a nation that not too long ago Washington threatened to bomb into the Stone Age if it did not cooperate on America's War on Terror.