'I hope food was good': Tharoor dishes out sarcasm on Trump-Munir lunch

US President Donald Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House, weeks after Munir praised him for averting India-Pakistan conflict escalation

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday took a dig at US President Donald Trump hosting Pakistan army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House, while also urging the US to press Pakistan on terrorism-related issues. 

“I have not seen the outcome after the meeting. I understood that apparently according to the White House, this general (Asim Munir) had said that the president (Donald Trump) should get the Nobel Peace Prize and he was rewarded with lunch,” Tharoor said in response to a question. 

“I hope the food was good and he has also got some food for thought in the process,” he said. 

 

VIDEO | Thiruvananthapuram: Responding to a question over US President Donald Trump hosting Pakistan army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) says, "I have not seen the outcome after the meeting. I understood that apparently… pic.twitter.com/YLaZwhPu1f

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 19, 2025

Tharoor emphasised that the United States should use such meetings to reinforce the message that Pakistan must not support terrorism. “I would hope that in these interactions with the Americans that they would also remind Pakistan of the great importance of not supporting terrorism, of not providing safe havens for terrorists, of not enabling, guiding, training, arming, financing, equipping and dispatching terrorists to our country,” he said.

 

Trump hosts Pak’s Asim Munir

Munir sat down for lunch with President Trump at the White House on Wednesday, only weeks after praising the American leader for preventing what he described as a “nuclear war between India and Pakistan”.     

 

  It is the first recorded occasion on which a serving US president has formally hosted the head of Pakistan’s military, news agency Reuters reported. The engagement followed a tense four-day exchange of fire between the two South Asian neighbours in May and coincided with rising hostilities between Israel and Iran — a conflict on which Islamabad, traditionally close to Tehran, has a stake. 

Briefing reporters afterwards, Trump said he was “honoured” to welcome Munir and revealed that the pair talked extensively about Iran, “which he said Pakistan knew better than most”. The president also credited the general with helping to dial down the India-Pakistan confrontation. 

“Well, I stopped the war between Pakistan – I love Pakistan – I think Modi is a fantastic man, I spoke to him last night. We are going to make a trade deal with Modi of India... And I stopped the war between Pakistan and India. This man (referring to Asim Munir) was extremely influential in stopping it from the Pakistani side, Modi from the Indian side, and others. And they were going at it; they are both nuclear countries. I got it stopped," President Trump said.

 

Reuters reported said Munir was expected to urge Washington not to enter Israel’s war with Iran and to push for a cease-fire. Pakistan still handles Iranian consular interests in the US, a legacy of Tehran’s break with Washington. 

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Trump from Canada, where he is attending the G7 summit, to restate New Delhi’s position that it never asked for US mediation during Operation Sindoor. Trump invited him to visit, but Modi declined, citing commitments. 

While India dismisses Trump’s claims of brokering calm, Islamabad has thanked the president for “playing the role of mediator”.

 

[With agency inputs]