Washington: Donald Trump presented Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan with a cricket bat, along with a picture of former US president Dwight Eisenhower during the meeting at the White House here on Monday.
Khan, who had led Pakistan cricket team to the cricket World Cup victory in 1992, was on a three-day visit to the US. The gesture of presenting with a picture of Eisenhower is significant as he was the only US President to have witnessed a test match in Pakistan, as pointed out in a report by Geo News.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Tuesday said that Trump has accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan extended to him by Khan during the meeting between the two leaders, reported Geo News
At a press conference in Washington, Qureshi said that the matters related to Trump’s visit will be agreed upon soon.
Earlier, during a meeting between Khan and Trump, a journalist had asked the US President if he would like to visit Pakistan, to which he responded that no such invitation was extended to him by Khan, though he would definitely accept it, if asked.
The talks between Trump and Khan touched upon a range of issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, as well as the cancellation of US aid to Pakistan.
Trump strongly criticised Islamabad for its behaviour which led to the cancellation of the aid amounting to USD 1.3 billion to the country.
Seated right beside Trump, Khan listened to the US President quietly, at times nodding his head and fidgeting with a ring on his right hand’s little finger.
He dodged a question over the restoration of the aid to Pakistan and continued, “To be honest, I think we have a better relationship with Pakistan right now than we did when we were paying that money. But all of that can come back, depending on what we work out.”
The suspension of the aid added to the already strained relationship between Washington and Islamabad.
The United States added that the aid would remain suspended until Islamabad takes steps against harbouring terrorists on its soil — a call which was renewed by several US Congressmen following Monday’s meeting.