WASHINGTON: The United States Department of State on Wednesday said the White House has not confirmed reports of a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Donald Trump.
During a press briefing, US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said she would reach out to the White House to confirm or not confirm the visit.
“To my knowledge, that has actually not been confirmed by the White House. I know that I have read the same reports that you have, but I would reach out to the White House to confirm or not confirm that visit, but that’s — we don’t have anything to announce here from the State Department,” Ortagus said.
Foreign Office's statement
The Foreign Office has called for caution against speculations about the Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to the United States.
Taking to Twitter, spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said, “We wish to caution against speculation about PM’s visit. We are in close contact with the US side.”
“As per practice, formal announcements are made at the appropriate time,” he added.
On the other hand, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfikar Bukhari has confirmed of the prime minister's visit to the US.
Bukhari added, the prime minister will depart for the trip to the US on July 20. The US officials will announce about the meeting after completing the formalities, he added.
Last week, Dr Faisal during his weekly press had said PM Imran was slated to meet President Trump on July 22 during his trip to Washington.
"At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Washington and hold a meeting with President Trump on July 22, 2019," Dr Faisal had said.
He had said the agenda of the meeting between the two leaders was being developed through diplomatic channels, and that the focus would be to "refresh the bilateral relationship".
According to sources, PM Imran Imran was to be accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and other leaders during his visit to the US in July.
The prime minister was expected to meet President Trump and other officials during his visit. The two leaders were expected to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, regional issues and the Afghan peace process.
In September, the prime minister will travel to New York to represent Pakistan at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
PM Imran will address the 74th UNGA session for the first time since he assumed office in August 2018.
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