Nawaz Sharif and Donald Trump to meet next week? And if they do, will it help Pakistan?
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet US President Donald Trump in person for the very first time next week at the US, Arab and Islamist Summit in Saudi Arabia, a Dawn News report says.
According to a Dawn News report, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may meet US President Donald Trump next week during the US, Arab and Islamist Summit in Saudi Arabia.
Quoting sources from the Pakistan Foreign Office, the report said the related modalities are still being worked out.
If the meeting happens, it will be the first face-to-face encounter between Sharif and Trump, who had a telephone conversation on November 30, 2016.
The US-Arab-Islamic summit is scheduled to be held on May 20-21 in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh.
The Saudi-led Islamic alliance was formed to fight terrorism.
It will be Donald Trump's first major interaction with major Muslim leaders of the world.
PHONE CONVERSATION BETWEEN TRUMP AND SHARIF
Trump is known to have a tough stand on Pakistan, even if Pakistan chose to highlight the November 30 phone conversation between him and Sharif.
The exchange was widely mocked, with the global media using terms like "Trumpiest Phone Call" to describe it because of Pakistan's eagerness to play it up.
In the past, Trump has said Pakistan is not the US' friend, and asked when it will apologize for providing safe sanctuary to Osama Bin Laden.
Apart from the November 30 phone call, he hasn't endorsed or publicly contradicted his past views about Pakistan.
US STAND ON PAKISTAN
Pakistan released the readout of Sharif-Trump phone conversation, reflecting a bonhomie between the two leaders:
"President Trump said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif you have a very good reputation. You are a terrific guy. You are doing amazing work which is visible in every way. I am looking forward to see you soon. As I am talking to you Prime Minister, I feel I am talking to a person I have known for long. Your country is amazing with tremendous opportunities. Pakistanis are one of the most intelligent people. I am ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play to address and find solutions to the outstanding problems. It will be an honor and I will personally do it. Feel free to call me any time even before 20th January that is before I assume my office."
But no one except Pakistan took it seriously.
In fact, the stand of the Trump administration on Pakistan appears to be rather different.
On May 11, in its 'Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community' report, the US government blamed Pakistan for deteriorating India-Pakistan ties and batted for India's growing intolerance of Pakistan's state-sponsored terrorism.
In April, US National Security Advisor General HR McMaster, who was in Pakistan, bluntly told the nation to stop using terror as state policy.
And during his campaign, Donald Trump promised to get Pakistan to free Dr. Shakil Afridi, who was instrumental in finding Osama Bin Laden, an act for which he has been languishing in jail.
With the sixth anniversary of Bin Laden's killing falling on May 2 and with Trump now in the White House, the US President may put pressure on Sharif to free Afridi.
And he can intervene if he wants to. In a tweet in March 2016, Trump had claimed that he "alone could solve the problem" after a terrorist attack targeting Christian women and children left 67 dead in Pakistan.
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