US President Donald Trump is pressuring Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir to contribute troops to an "international stabilisation force (ISF)" in Gaza, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Munir will visit Washington in the coming weeks, two sources told Reuters, one of them a key player in the general’s economic diplomacy, and the meeting is likely to focus on Gaza.
Munir is not Pakistan’s head of state; that role belongs to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. This would be the third meeting with the army chief since Trump came to power earlier this year. The previous two were in September and October at the White House.
Munir was promoted to the coveted field marshal rank in May after leading Pakistan to what was widely viewed as a victory in its small-scale war against India. The position has made him Pakistan’s most powerful military leader in decades.
The international stabilisation force is one of the cornerstones of Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end Israel’s war on Gaza. But it has been slow-moving with several Arab and Muslim states reluctant to contribute, as they fear they may be seen as collaborating with Israel or the US.
