Embarrassing...: Indian Defence Secy On Asim Munirs Meeting With Trump While Pak PM Nowhere To Be Seen
As Pakistan Army Chief Amir Munir was invited for a meeting with United States President Donald Trump, Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh took a swipe at the Islamic State's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and stated that it must be embarring for the country that the Military Chief gets invited and the PM "is nowhere to be seen."
In an interview with the news agency ANI, the Defence Secretary said, "I don't have any great opinion on this, but it's surprising. It must be an embarrassment to any country that the military chief gets invited and the prime minister is nowhere to be seen."
It's a very strange thing," Singh added, and did not take any names while responding to a query about Munir's meeting with Trump on Wednesday.
#WATCH | On US President Donald Trump's lunch meeting with Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh says, "...It is surprising. It must be an embarrassment to any country that the Military Chief gets invited and the Prime Minister is nowhere to be… pic.twitter.com/bstlFrWhga — ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2025
The Defence Secretary also expressed surprise at Munir's presence in the Special Investment Facilitation Council in Pakistan, which makes economic decisions, and said it's a 'structurally imbalanced' state where the Military has first claim on resources.
"I always found it very strange that this gentleman sits on something called the Investment Facilitation Council in Pakistan, which basically makes economic decisions. It's a weird, structurally sort of imbalanced state where the military essentially has first claim on resources, which is why, with a $370 billion economy, they are able to pre-empt resources from their pressing social and economic needs into this kind of conflict. But be that as it may, they are our neighbour, and we have to handle them in such a way that we establish some level of deterrence," Singh said.
The Defence Secretary also said that Munir's presence and Pakistan PM Sharif's absence in the White House were indicative of the power dynamics in the neighbouring state.
"The fact that you are going to the White House, your prime minister is not there, but you are there, would indicate where the sort of power relationship lies. So, in a sense, he's awarded himself the field marshal, I guess," Singh continued.
Defence Secretary On Munir's Promotion
When asked about Defence Secretary Singh's response to reports of Munir's promotion to the rank of Field Martial, he said one accepted it "with a kind of mixture of bemusement and incredulity".
"Actually, in some of the circles, the feedback that I was getting actually did anticipate that something like this could happen. So, it was a kind of...how should I describe it? You accepted it with a kind of mixture of bemusement and incredulity in a way that such absurdity can happen, but that's the way it goes. You can actually award yourself essentially a field marshal," Singh added.
PM Modi's US Invite
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also invited by US President Trump to visit Washington; however, he refused the invitation.
While he was in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, on Friday, the PM opened up about the reason for the refusal and informed that he was invited for dinner with the US President.
"Just two days ago, I was in Canada for the G7 summit, and the US President Trump called me. He said, since you have come to Canada, go via Washington, we will have dinner together and talk. He extended the invitation with great insistence. I told the US President, Thank you for the invitation. It is very important for me to go to the land of Mahaprabhu, and hence I politely declined his invitation, and your love and devotion to Mahaprabhu brought me to this land," the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
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