Trump showed ‘keen interest’ in developing trade partnership between US-Pakistan: Pak Army

US President Donald Trump has expressed "keen interest" in developing a trade partnership with Pakistan, the Pakistan Army said. This comes even as India, and more recently Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, took to jog Washington’s memory of where 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden was found, before they tracked and shot him down.

Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House on Wednesday. The Pakistan Army’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said they discussed joint counterterrorism efforts, apart from avenues for expanding bilateral cooperation in multiple domains, including trade, economic development, mines and minerals, artificial intelligence, energy, cryptocurrency, and emerging technologies. 

"President Trump expressed keen interest in forging a mutually beneficial trade partnership with Pakistan based on long-term strategic convergence and shared interests," said the statement.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday said the meeting between Munir and Trump highlighted the India, Pakistan conflict. He described the meeting as a milestone in Pakistan-US relations, noting it was the first time a US President invited and met a Pakistani Army Chief. Asif called the Trump-Munir meeting the most important turning point in the 78-year history of relations between the two countries. 

Munir also invited Trump to undertake an official visit to Pakistan at a mutually convenient date. Although scheduled for one hour, the meeting lasted over two hours.

Trump thanked Munir for visiting “for helping secure the ceasefire” with India. When asked about the Iran-Israel conflict, Trump said Pakistan knows Iran very well and is not happy about the situation. 

Meanwhile, Indian experts are not chuffed with this development that appears to be signaling a balancing act by the US between India and Pakistan. Without mincing his words, Tharoor said, "I hope the food was good and he (Asim Munir) gets some food for thought in the process. I would hope that in these interactions, the Americans would also remind Pakistan of the great importance of not supporting terrorism, of not providing safe haven to terrorists, of not enabling, guiding, training, arming, financing, equipping, and dispatching terrorists to our country from their soil."

Tharoor said it was not possible for the Americans to forget the “episode of Osama so quickly”. “Osama bin Laden killed over 2,000 people in the 9/11 attack. He destroyed two iconic American buildings. Pakistan's culpability in hiding this man until he was finally found in a safe house near an Army camp cannot easily be forgotten and forgiven by the Americans…I hope while the General was being wined and dined, he got all these messages at the same time because that would also be in America's interest," the Congress leader said.