Should India worry about Trump’s lunch with Pakistan's Asim Munir?

US President Donald Trump and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir had lunch at the White House on Wednesday (June 18).

This is the first time that a US President has made such an invite to the head of the Pakistan Army who is not head of state.

New Delhi will be undoubtedly watching the events with interest.

While many in India had celebrated the return of Trump to the White House, others questioned whether it would be to New Delhi’s benefit.

But how worried should India be about the lunch?

Let’s take a closer look:

What happened?

Munir, who is on a five-day trip to the United States, has thus far received the red-carpet treatment.

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Trump at the luncheon was accompanied by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff.

Munir was accompanied by National Security Advisor Lt Gen Asim Malik, who is also the head of the intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

Trump, speaking at the White House, said he wanted to thank Munir for not going to war with India.

“The reason I had him here, I want to thank him for not going into the war, ending the war (with India). And I want to thank, as you know, Prime Minister Modi,” he said.

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Trump said that “two very smart people decided not to keep going with that war”. “That could have been a nuclear war. Those are two nuclear powers, big ones, big, big nuclear powers, and they decided (to end the conflict),” he added.

When asked if the talks included the Iran-Israel conflict, Trump said: “They (Pakistan) know Iran very well, better than most, and they’re not happy about anything. It’s not that they’re bad with Israel. They know them both, actually, but they know Iran better."

“The engagement marks a significant moment in the ongoing efforts to reinforce the longstanding partnership between Pakistan and the United States, built upon shared objectives of peace, stability, and prosperity,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said in a statement after the lunch.

Apart from lunch at the White House with Trump, Munir also met a number of top US security officials at the Pentagon, the state department, and Central Command headquarters in Florida.

How worried should India be?

Some argue that New Delhi should be worried.

After all, this is the first time a US President has invited a Pakistani military chief who isn’t head of state to the White House.

Ayub Khan, Zia ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf were all heads up state at the time they were hosted at the White House.

This despite Pakistan continuing to back terror groups and Indian intelligence agencies even investigating if Munir’s remarks instigated the Pahalgam attack in April.

Trump’s tone on Pakistan has also undergone a jarring shift.

Trump just a few years ago accused Pakistan of offering the United States “nothing but lies and deceitful”.

However, this must be seen in light of what Trump can personally get from Pakistan.

Trump, since returning to office, has made cryptocurrency and rare earth minerals a top priority.

Pakistan, which recently established a Crypto Council, has tied up with a firm with links to the Trump family.

Incidentally, Zachary Witkoff, the son of Steve Witkoff, represented the firm at the meetings with senior Pakistani officials including Munir.

Pakistan has also invited US companies to invest in its mineral reserves – which are estimated to be worth trillions of dollars.

Pakistan is also eager to reach a trade deal with the US – another Trump priority.

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

Analysts says this is Trump’s modus operandi – dealing with a country strictly on a quid pro quo basis.

“The Trump-Munir meeting shouldn’t be seen only through the lens of the Israel-Iran war,” Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based south Asia analyst, told The Guardian. “There’s been US-Pakistan engagement on crypto, minerals and counter-terrorism, and Trump takes a deep personal interest in all of these.”

“This is classic Trump: ‘What can you do for me? What can I get out of this?’”

Trump’s claims about also being responsible for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan are also causing a backlash for the Modi government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a phone call with Trump Tuesday denied that the United States played any role in the ceasefire.

Modi said that India has never sought third party mediation and would never do so.

Modi said that the ceasefire came at the behest of Pakistan.

Some argue that India should not be surprised given the United States’ history of prioritising Pakistan – given its strategic location and its pliability to Washington many demands – since the Cold War.

They say that India has positioned itself as a far more reliable and trustworthy partner.

They add that the US is likely courting Pakistan at the moment in case it needs a base from which to launch operations against Iran.

Marvin Weinbaum, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), and former state department official, speaking to Al Jazeera, warned Pakistan that “nothing is permanent in this administration”.

“If Pakistan does play some role in the Iran crisis, they have could have more substantial meaning to these ties. But it needs to be prepared that there is nothing settled with this administration. It can change on a dime, at any hour,” he added.

With input from agencies