ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and the United States are reportedly planning a meeting betweenPresident Donald Trump and PM Imran Khan.
Both sides are discussing a proposal about arranging the maiden meetingbetween Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Donald Trump, officialssaid on Thursday, hours after Trump said he was looking forward to meetingthe Pakistani leadership.
The proposal for a Imran-Trump meeting is being discussed between the twosides but the final decision hinges on the “positive outcome” of theongoing efforts to strike a peace deal in Afghanistan, a senior officialsaid on the condition of anonymity. Imran is likely to travel to the US if“all goes well”, the official added.
Trump himself dropped a hint of the possible meeting with the Pakistaniprime minister on Wednesday when he told a cabinet meeting that “I lookforward to meeting the folks from the new leadership in Pakistan [and] wewill be doing that in not-too-distant future”.
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When asked to comment on the Trump’s statement and whether there was anychance of the meeting between the two leaders, Foreign Office spokespersonDr Muhammad Faisal said Pakistan looked forward to “positive engagement”with the US at the leadership level. “President Trump’s remarks are indeeda departure from his tweet of 1 January 2018,” Faisal told a weekly newsbriefing.
The positive vibes coming from the White House are attributed to the recentpush for seeking a peace deal in Afghanistan. Pakistan recently brokereddirect talks between the Afghan Taliban and the US in United Arab Emirates.
The next round is expected in Saudi Arabia, which suggests a positivemovement of the talks. “If the process moves forward in positive direction,certainly there is a possibility of engagement between Pakistan and the USat the highest level,” another official said.
