Why Is Asim Munir Visiting U.S. Again? Inside Pakistan’s Top General’s Washington Diplomacy

Asim Munir is scheduled to pay another visit to the United States in two months. Islamabad eyes closer military and trade ties with Washington.

Representative image (Reuters)

New Delhi: Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is heading to the United States once again this week. His visit comes barely two months after his last trip to Washington. He is expected to attend the U.S. Central Command’s change-of-command ceremony.

But the real story may not be the ceremony itself. It is the timing and the conversations already in motion.

In June, Munir had lunch with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House. The meeting lasted two hours. No civilian leader from Pakistan was present. It was a first. Never before had a Pakistani military chief been hosted in the Oval Office on his own.

According to insiders, their discussion touched on trade, economic ties and the future of cryptocurrency.

In his signature style, Trump did not hold back praise. He said, “The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and ending it…”

The remark referred to the May conflict between India and Pakistan, four days of cross-border drone and missile exchanges that stopped just short of full-scale war.

India later said it acted alone. But Trump claimed credit for helping stop it.

Munir seemed to agree. In his own words, he said Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for “averting nuclear war” between the two nations.

The backdrop to that crisis was Operation Sindoor. India launched the operation in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians.

According to Indian officials, nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir were targeted and more than 100 militants were killed in the offensive.

Trump’s role in managing tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad has stirred debate. India has insisted that the eventual ceasefire came after direct talks between the two countries’ Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO). No foreign mediation, New Delhi said, was involved.

Still, Trump has not stepped back from the narrative. In fact, he has doubled down.

Alongside security talks, he also unveiled a trade agreement with Islamabad. The deal opens access for U.S. companies to Pakistan’s oil reserves.

But the fine print carries a twist. Trump signed an executive order imposing a 19% tariff on Pakistani exports, lower than the previous 29% rate, but still steep. The trade talks have been branded as a package of both relief and pressure.

Munir’s return to Washington now comes in that context. A second visit in two months signals something crucial: sustained military diplomacy, with political overtones.

Whether the visit brings new deals, more pressure or another round of handshakes remains to be seen. But for now, Pakistan’s most powerful man is going back to the United States, and the conversations are far from over.