Implications of the Washington lunch

There is much speculation on why President Donald Trump invited Pakistani army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for a meeting followed by a luncheon.

- HARSHA KAKAR

Though planned for an hour, it extended for over two hours. There is a claim that this was arranged by influential members of Pakistan's diaspora who are close to Trump, and not by his government.

There is also talk that this was Trump's way of thanking Munir and other Pakistani leaders who have been profusely expressing their gratitude to him for brokering the Operation Sindor ceasefire and recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize, which is his ultimate goal. No other nation's leaders have been bending so far backwards to please Trump as Pakistan's.

Islamabad, apart from exploiting Trump's claim of brokering the ceasefire as a means to avoid embarrassment of admitting that it approached India once its strategic assets had been targeted, played to his ego. Trump also has family business interests in Pakistan.

It is known that a cryptocurrency deal between World Liberty Financial (WLF), a firm backed by the Trump family, and the newly formed Pakistan Crypto Council was inked days after Pahalgam. Interestingly, the WLF team, led by the son of Steve Witkoff, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East and his golfing partner, was received by Munir in Pakistan. It signals growing proximity between the Pakistan army leadership and Trump's personal business entities.

Added has been Pakistan's offer of critical mining concessions to the US on similar lines as China. Two US delegations visited Islamabad in April to assess the offer. These delegations met senior members of the government as also the military leadership. Trump, hoping to diversify US imports of critical minerals from China has inked a deal with Ukraine and is now hoping to do the same with Pakistan.