Wars and crypto bring Pakistan army chief to Trump’s lunch table

ISLAMABAD — The lunch meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the White House on Wednesday proved something of a diplomatic breakthrough as Islamabad woos Trump with its recently announced national crypto reserve plan.

Munir became the first serving army chief of Pakistan who was not at the head of a military government to have a meeting with a sitting U.S. president. It was also the first interaction between a top Pakistani official and a U.S. president since July 2019, when Prime Minister Imran Khan and Trump met in the White House. Biden did not meet his Pakistani counterpart during his four-year tenure.