US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the White House on Thursday, a Trump administration official told Reuters. The meeting comes just weeks after Washington and Islamabad announced a trade deal, underscoring a recent warming of ties between the two countries.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan have entered a new phase under Trump, who has sought to rebalance Washington’s South Asia policy. For years, US strategy emphasized closer cooperation with India as a counterweight to China, but strains with New Delhi over tariffs, visas, and Trump’s contentious claims of mediating an India-Pakistan ceasefire have complicated that approach.

The July 31 trade agreement, which included a 19 per cent tariff rate set by Washington, ma

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