The Kabul Tribune (KT) — Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 23 on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Geo News reported, citing high-level sources.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to host a
reception dinner for heads of state and government attending the U.N. General
Assembly on the evening of Sept. 23 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on
Madison Avenue, according to the report.
Sharif has received an invitation to the dinner, which is
expected to bring together several world leaders. The event could provide an
opportunity for the Pakistani premier to interact with other heads of state and
government, the sources said.
The meeting with Trump would be their first face-to-face
interaction in seven months, following the conclusion of a Board of Peace
meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Sharif is scheduled to arrive in New York from London on
Sept. 22 and address the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 25.
According to the sources cited by Geo News, Sharif is
expected to raise India's suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, citing a
recent ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that rejected India's
position on the matter.
He is also expected to highlight the Kashmir dispute and
Pakistan's diplomatic efforts to promote regional peace, including efforts
toward a ceasefire and an end to hostilities in the Middle East.
Sharif is further expected to discuss a trilateral
collective security arrangement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye,
signed in Makkah last month. He will also brief the international community on
Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts and raise Islamabad's concerns about what
it describes as India-sponsored terrorism, including the alleged use of Afghan
territory for such activities.
On the sidelines of the U.N. session, Sharif is expected to
meet several world leaders, including Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman,
with whom he is expected to hold his first meeting.
The high-level general debate of the 81st U.N. General
Assembly is scheduled for Sept. 22-26 at U.N. headquarters in New York. Sharif
is listed as the fourth speaker during the second half of the Sept. 25 session.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not expected to
attend the General Assembly for a second consecutive year, while Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to address the assembly on Sept. 24.
Afghanistan is scheduled to be among the final speakers on
the concluding day of the General Assembly, according to the schedule cited in
the report.
