With eye on Iran, Trump to host Pak army chief Munir for White House lunch

US President Donald Trump will host Pakistan’s Army Chief, “Field Marshal” Asim Munir, for a lunch on Wednesday, the White House has revealed amid turbulent developments in Washington, including Trump’s implicit threats to kill Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei and destroy the country’s purported nuclear weapons program at Israel’s behest.

The US President’s schedule for Wednesday shows him having a “closed-door lunch with the Chief of Army Staff of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan” at 1 pm in the White House Cabinet Room, with no further explanation — and not even a mention of Munir’s name.

It is rare, if not unprecedented, for the US President to host a lunch for a visiting foreign army chief. Although Pakistani military leaders like Ayub Khan, Zia-ul Haq, and Pervez Musharraf met contemporary US Presidents in the past ( Ayub Khan with Kennedy, Zia with Carter and Reagan, Musharraf with Bush), they did so after assuming leadership of the country following coups that deposed civilian leaders.

While Trump’s gesture implicitly recognizes Munir as the de facto leader of Pakistan, Washington appeared to be enlisting his support, or at least acquiescence, for its planned strikes against Iran if the leadership in Tehran does not surrender its nuclear program. The US and Israel also want to make sure Iran remains isolated in the Islamic umma, and derives no support from Pakistan, whose parlous condition makes its vulnerable to pressure, while also enabling it to pivot for a price.

Given Trump’s maverick nature, it is also possible that Munir will be served notice about any support for Iran from Islamabad. Pakistan’s civilian leadership has officially condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran, describing them as a “brazen violation of Iran’s sovereignty” and an “unjustified and illegitimate aggression.”

Pakistani officials, including deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, have expressed solidarity with Iran, stating that Pakistan stands with the government and people of Iran. Defence minister Khawaja Asif also emphasized the need for Muslim nations to unite against what he termed “Israeli aggression,” urging countries Muslim countries to sever ties with Israel and calling for an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to formulate a joint strategy.

Asif also warned that Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal could escalate regional conflicts, though he dismissed claims by an Iranian general, Mohsen Rezaei, that Pakistan had promised nuclear retaliation against Israel if Iran were attacked with nuclear weapons, calling such claims “fabricated” and “irresponsible.”

Unlike in the case of Iran, Washington was asleep at the wheel when Pakistan (and later North Korea) mastered the fuel cycle to become de-facto nuclear powers. Pakistan helped North Korea’s nuclear weapons quest in exchange for ballistic missile technology and also briefly flirted with Iran when AQ Khan, the Pakistani nuclear engineer and smuggler, attempted to establish a clandestine nuclear network.

While Munir himself is a hardcore Islamist, expat Pakistanis in US allied with Imran Khan’s PTI party allege that he is pro-Israel and is backing the US-Israel move against Iran so that Pakistan remains the sole Islamic nuclear power. Past military leaders like Zia-ul-Haq and Musharraf were also quick to turn Pakistan into a rentier state to extract billions of dollars in aid and military supplies from the United States.

PTI activists who were the first to out Munir’s low-profile presence in the US, alleged that he attended a meeting of AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby group, in Washington DC, pointing to his US associate Sajid Tarar, whom they described as “a staunch Zionist supporter of Israel and an enemy of Palestinian and Iranian Muslims.”

Who is Sajid Tarar?
A Pakistani-American businessman from Baltimore-Washington area, Sajid Tarar has been a long-time Trump supporter and founded the group “American Muslims for Trump.” He has been a speaker at the last three Republican National Conventions and his close ties with MAGA saw his son join the state department during Trump’s first term. Tarar has also praised Prime Minister Modi and has often expressed support for better India-Pakistan ties.

According to PTI scuttlebutt, it was Tarar who facilitated Munir’s luncheon meeting with Trump. Tarar also hosted a community reception for Munir at the Four Seasons Hotel, where he praised the Pakistan diaspora as “true ambassadors” of Pakistan, recognising their contributions to Pakistan’s economy and global reputation through remittances, investments, and achievements in various fields — not mentioning the numerous Pakistanis who have carried out terrorist attacks in the US and across the world.