JK News Today Analysis
It indeed was a rare gesture by the US when President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan army chief Gen. Asim Munir for lunch on Wednesday ( June 18, 2025) .This extraordinary development is not necessarily related to the Indo-Pak tensions that refuse to subside despite May 10th ceasefire , it should be traced to ongoing Israel-Iran conflict which has assumed dangerous dimensions . The US is mulling the question whether to jump into this conflict or not.
Trump and his national security team must have made their calculations before setting up the optics of a lunch with Gen. Asim Munir. It is, for sure that they must have taken into consideration all pros and cons in their preview of such a gesture.
First, the US made its geopolitical calculations and the role that Pakistan could play in the Israel-Iran conflict. Pakistan is the only Islamic country with a declared atomic bomb, and also a declared “enemy of Israel”. But could Islamabad have come to rescue of Iran, only Asim Munir had the answer to this critically important question, as he is the real power in Pakistan. No other in Pakistan can discuss this possibility.
Second, since Pakistan, at least, in its public and diplomatic utterances, sounds anti-Israel, it has its mischief potential in the geopolitics of the region. It is despite the fact that Islamabad and Tehran have not best of the relations; both had hit at what they called terrorist centres inside each other’s territories.
Iran had had hit what it called Jaish-al-Adil terror group inside Pakistan, while the latter responded with rockets and drones at “Baloch” separatists in January 2024. These tensions have lingered on despite both Tehran and Islamabad maintaining that peace is a must between the two neighbouring countries.
The White House, over the decades, has been comfortable in dealing with Army generals of Pakistan – the real power in the theocratic Islamic country since it appeared on the map after the Partition in 1947. Washington military has encouraged military rulers, supported them with arms and funds since the times of Ayub Khan down to Pervez Musharraf, and now to Asim Munir.
Trump, in his first term, to be precise on January 1, 2018 had accused Pakistan of selling lies and deceit to the US’ regarding its fight against terrorism. He had tweeted: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hut in Afghanistan with little help. No More!”
There is no change in Trump administration’s policy toward Pakistan, it, measured from all angles, speaks of a little shift owing to the strategic necessities of the times. The Israel-Iran conflict, with the backdrop of Israel’s previous wars against Palestinians, and Lebanon and other “proxies” of Tehran, has all the ingredients of a larger war. America is not just watching the situation; it is very much a player.
Israel could not have struck at Iranian nuclear programme assets without the US blessings the threats, emanating from the US, have reconfirmed that. President Trump himself issued a direct threat to Iran, when he posted “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER”. The threat has been rejected by Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Khameni, saying “war and peace cannot be imposed on the Islamic Republic.” In this situation, the role of Pakistan and the man who controls it in real sense becomes quite crucial for the US. That explains “the lunch”
President Trump’s claim that he wanted to “thank” Munir for his stopping the war with India is just a ruse. Both of them know what it’s all about to keep Pakistan away from jumping into the Iran-Israel conflict. Trump is saving Israel from the possibility of Islamic countries – with Pakistan being the sole nuclear power among OIC nations – rallying behind Iran. Pakistan, as a neighbour of Iran, holds geostrategic importance that the US cannot ignore.
Given post –Pahalgam and now- paused Operation Sindoor , after intense military escalation May7-10 and wide praise that Islamabad showered on the US President ‘s claim on ending the conflict between the two nuclear-powered countries , Israel- Iran war prompted Trump to host Munir. Trump, like all narcissist leaders, loves that.
It’s inevitable that Indo-Pakistan relations would have come for discussions, as that was a perfect preface for their meeting. Munir repeated the praise and Trump must have enjoyed that. But, in the real politic, the US knows when it comes to trade; Pakistan is not even a patch on India’s economic standing and growth. This love affair with Pakistan, though a necessity of the times, is temporary. There is no finality in it in reference to the US-Pakistan ties. Trump knows that Pakistan, at this point in time, will not come out of the shackles of China, but wants to keep in good humour. There is no free lunch.
