President Donald Trump will meet with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, marking Shariff’s first visit to the White House since becoming Pakistan’s prime minister.
Shariff’s meeting with Trump will occur at 4:30 p.m. , according to the official White House
The pair’s meeting comes as the two countries reached a trade agreement in late July, in which the United States will impose a 19% tariff on all Pakistani imports. In Trump’s initial roll-out in April, Trump previously set the tariff rate on Pakistan at 29%.
In recent years, tensions between the United States and Pakistan were rather high, amid the United States’ drone strike program in Pakistan and Washington’s decision to cut aid funding to Pakistan. The United States’ close ties to India, Pakistan’s arch-rival, has also been a point of contention for Islamabad.
But now, India and the United States have been at odds with each other over Trump’s tariffs. Just last month, Trump added a punitive 25% tariff on India, making its total tariffs on New Dehli set at 50%. Trump is also imposing a $100,000 fee on H1-B visas. Indians score the vast majority of the visas. They received 71% of these visas in the 2024 lottery.
Meanwhile, in June, Pakistan nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize after he brokered a peace deal between India and Pakistan following a border conflict that erupted in May.
And since June, Pakistan army chief Asim Munir has visited the White House twice. Mumir is considered to be the most powerful figure in Pakistan, getting the final say on issues of both foreign policy and domestic politics.
On Wednesday, Trump hosted Pakistan along with other Muslim majority countries for a meeting hosted on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, in which Middle Eastern leadership was briefed on Israeli’s assault in Gaza.
_______________________
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Elaine at emallon@sbgtv.com and follow here on X @MallonElaine