US President Donald Trump on Sunday showered praise on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Asim Munir for their relentless efforts to mediate talks between the US and Iran.
Speaking during a telephonic conversation with Fox News on the peace talks with Iran, Trump said that PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir were “great people”, adding that he had “great respect” for the top Pakistani leadership.
Trump said he decided to call off the planned visit by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner because the talks in Islamabad involved too much travel and expense.
“If they [Iranians] want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” he added.
Despite calling off the trip, the US president said that he had great respect for PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir for making tireless efforts to bring both sides to the negotiating table.
Trump noted that the Pakistani mediators will remain involved in the negotiation process between Washington and Tehran.
The US president has repeatedly praised Pakistan’s civil and military leadership for facilitating talks between Washington and Tehran.
Earlier, he commended the “kind and very competent leadership” of the army chief and the prime minister for hosting the first round of talks in Islamabad on April 11.
“They [PM Shehbaz and the field marshal] are very extraordinary men, and continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a horrendous war with India,” he had added.
Pakistan’s push to get Iran and the United States to the negotiating table for their highest-level face-to-face talks in decades to end weeks of war has garnered international praise.
In Islamabad, Field Marshal Munir was at the centre of the action — greeting both delegations on their arrival and displaying remarkable bonhomie with US Vice President JD Vance.
Trump frequently refers to CDF Munir as his “favourite field marshal”, after a rapport built during US efforts to defuse a short but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and rival India last year.
