Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan on Thursday said he had “no information” regarding widespread reports of United States President Donald Trump’s visit to Pakistan in September.
Earlier in the day, some local television news channels reported, citing sources, that Trump is expected to visit Pakistan in September. The news channels said that Trump would also visit India after arriving in Islamabad in September.
Talking to Dawn.com on the reported visit, the FO spokesperson said: “We have no information about this matter.”
Similarly, a US embassy spokesperson in Islamabad told Reuters, “We have nothing to announce,” and said that the White House might be able to provide confirmation on the president’s schedule.
If confirmed, the visit would be the first by a US president since nearly two decades ago, when then-president George W Bush visited Pakistan in 2006.
US-Pakistan relations saw a major boost when Trump hosted Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month in an unprecedented meeting.
India is due to host the summit of the so-called Quad countries this year, but dates for the meeting have not been announced yet.
The Quad grouping includes the US, India, Australia and Japan and is focused on countering China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific region.
Britain’s King Charles will host Trump from September 17 to 19 for his unprecedented second state visit to Britain, Buckingham Palace said on Monday.
