Latest news with #Trump-Munir
India.com
07-08-2025
- Business
- India.com
DNA Decodes: How Trump-Munir Bond Is Threatening China's Influence In Pakistan
US President Donald Trump is infamous for turning foes into friends and friends into foes in pursuit of a good deal. But every friendship has its limits and layers. When two individuals with differing status and worldviews appear unusually close, it often signals shared interests driving a strategic alliance. Such a bond has now emerged between Trump and Pakistan's military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. In today's DNA, we analysed this unique and strategic equation between Trump and Munir, highlighting its broader geopolitical implications for South Asia. #DNAWithRahulSinha #DNA #USA #DonaldTrump #USTarrif #China #AsimMunir @RahulSinhaTV — Zee News (@ZeeNews) August 7, 2025 China's Investment in Pakistan China's footprint in Pakistan is vast: bilateral trade stands at INR 19,000 crore; CPEC alone has drawn INR 54,000 crore (now stalled); the power sector has absorbed INR 28,000 crore across hydropower, coal, and LNG; infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, and ports, total INR 11,000 crore. Moreover, Pakistan imports 80% of its military hardware from China at subsidized rates. On top of this, China has extended INR 24,000 crore in loans, with interest repayments proving burdensome. This heavy reliance has sparked fears that Pakistan could become a Chinese colony. In response, the US is working to bring Pakistan back into its strategic orbit. As Washington's influence grows through Munir, Beijing's grip weakens — a trend that has unsettled China. Frequent visits to Pakistan by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reflect these concerns. For China, the Trump-Munir proximity is a major red flag. Further complicating matters, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's recent visit to Pakistan is seen as a backchannel effort — reminiscent of General Yahya Khan's role in the 1970s — to broker US-Iran ties, with Munir again as the quiet mediator. Munir Protecting US Interests Beyond geopolitics, Munir is also seen as protecting Trump's interests. During his White House visit, Munir handed Trump symbolic 'balloons,' supported his Nobel Prize bid, and now oversees a major crypto deal involving the Trump-linked World Liberty Council worth INR 17,000 crore. In return, Trump appears to be offering Pakistan strategic assurances. US military aid, reduced under Biden, has resumed, with INR 330 crore allocated for F-16 support. During Operation Sindhu, Pakistan received IMF relief worth INR 20,000 crore. Trump has also signed oil deals to support Pakistan's exploration ambitions, even suggesting Pakistan could one day export oil to India. The growing Trump-Munir axis marks a significant realignment in regional geopolitics. Trump's quiet endorsement of Munir as Pakistan's de facto leader signals a move that could reshape power balances in South Asia, particularly by sidelining China's influence over Islamabad.
News18
21-06-2025
- Politics
- News18
Pakistan's Defence Minister Admits ‘Hybrid Rule', Says Army Too Holds Power In Civil-Military Setup
This marks the second time in a week that Asif, currently serving in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet, has acknowledged the presence of a hybrid arrangement. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, a senior leader of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and a close aide of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has openly stated that the country is operating under a 'hybrid model" of governance in which the military holds a fair share of power. This marks the second time in a week that Asif, currently serving in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet, has acknowledged the presence of a hybrid arrangement. Analysts have long criticised this setup as a 'fixed government to serve subsidiary interests," rather than a genuine power-sharing model. Asif's remarks came during an interview with Arab News aired on Friday evening and are being widely interpreted as confirmation that the Sharifs' PML-N is functioning with the endorsement of Pakistan's powerful military establishment. Describing the hybrid civil-military structure as a shared arrangement, Asif said: 'This is a hybrid model. It's not an ideal democratic government. So, this hybrid arrangement, I think it is doing wonders. This system is a practical necessity until Pakistan is out of the woods as far as economic and governance problems are concerned." He further argued that if such a model had been implemented in the 1990s, when Nawaz Sharif was twice elected prime minister, Pakistan might have avoided prolonged friction between civilian and military leadership. 'The confrontation between the military establishment and the political government would retard the progress of democracy," he added. The defence minister's statement has reignited debate over the PML-N's political trajectory and its now-contradictory past slogan of 'vote ko izzat do" (give respect to the ballot). Critics argue that Asif's frank admission cements the perception that the PML-N has aligned itself firmly under the military's umbrella, abandoning its previous anti-establishment stance. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a long-time rival of the Sharifs, has repeatedly claimed that the general elections held on February 8 were the 'Mother of All Rigging" and accused the PML-N and its coalition partner—the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari—of being 'mandate thieves." Following Asif's admission, political observers say the future of Pakistan's democratic institutions remains precarious. 'This (Trump-Munir) meeting has lifted the thin, see-through veneer of 'elected'. What the world has known for quite a while is now in the open… where is the centre of power in Pakistan and who is in control of real state powers? The political allies (military) in power have presented themselves as the 'government' now," remarked political analyst Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais, reported news agency PTI. He further noted: 'Khawaja Asif and others now have to seek some legitimacy to praise the merits of the hybrid model, which actually doesn't mean a mixed but a fixed government to serve subsidiary interests." Dr Rais described the current political system as the third iteration of a hybrid regime since Imran Khan's ouster in 2022. Unlike previous periods under General Ziaul Haq and General Pervez Musharraf, both of whom built new political alliances, this time, he said, major parties like the PML-N and PPP have willingly assumed the role of 'political facade." He concluded that the military's orchestration of electoral victories for the PML-N and PPP has reduced them to mere appendages of the establishment. 'Now, the priority of the Sharifs and Zardaris as well as the military establishment is to neutralise the third force — Imran Khan's PTI — which is perceived as a danger for all of them," he said. Senior journalist Matiullah Jan also weighed in with sharp criticism on X: 'What a fall from grace for a politician. This defence minister takes oath to defend the constitution which makes no mention of the so-called hybrid form of government." He added, 'The fact is that this system is not even a hybrid system but a pure and simple dictatorship with political pygmies at the heels of affairs." Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 21, 2025, 21:38 IST News world Pakistan's Defence Minister Admits 'Hybrid Rule', Says Army Too Holds Power In Civil-Military Setup
Indian Express
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Express News Quiz: Down's Syndrome, doomsday fish & quirky dolls
Welcome to The Indian Express' weekly news quiz. You know the drill — there are 10 quiz questions below, woven around major events from India and the world. Your job is to sniff out the answers while being mindful of the timer. Any score above 80 will be commendable. Good luck, and see you on the other side! Before you try our other games, a look at the rich stories that couldn't make it into the quiz this week: Nationalist history presents India as Bharat Varsha, but British were conquering territories based on economic sense: Sam Dalrymple | 'Earliest Indians were migrants…India has been connected to the world from the very beginning,' says historian Audrey Truschke | Why India doesn't need to worry about the Trump-Munir lunch More from Express Puzzles & Games BEGINNERS | The IE Mini Crossword, made with Indian English MEDIUM | Digital Sudoku with pen, pencil and checking tools EXPERT | Chess strategy puzzle: find best moves, solve trivia Aishwarya Khosla is a journalist currently serving as Deputy Copy Editor at The Indian Express. Her writings examine the interplay of culture, identity, and politics. She began her career at the Hindustan Times, where she covered books, theatre, culture, and the Punjabi diaspora. Her editorial expertise spans the Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Punjab and Online desks. She was the recipient of the The Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections, where she studied political campaigns, policy research, political strategy and communications for a year. She pens The Indian Express newsletter, Meanwhile, Back Home. Write to her at or You can follow her on Instagram: @ink_and_ideology, and X: @KhoslaAishwarya. ... Read More
Mint
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
Memes flood social media as Trump to host Pakistan's Asim Munir at White House for backing Nobel Peace Prize bid
US President Donald Trump and Pakistan Field Marshal Asim Munir are slated to meet over lunch, which has recently been announced by the White House. The lunch invitation is more like a closed-door meeting between both the leaders, which is a major development while the world is currently focused on the Israel-Iran conflict. However, more than the updates and information about the meeting, memes have taken over the Internet about the Trump-Munir talk, with Bollywood being one of the major themes of the same. From scenes of Anil Kapoor and Amrish Puri starrer film Rishtey to Sadashiv Amrapurkar's glimpses from the film Ishq (1997), social media is rife with videos which hint at 'what's going to happen when both of them meet." Then comes an iconic scene from Anil Kapoor's Nayak, which was converted into a trendy meme ahead of the meeting. More rib-tickling memes were shared by social media users, most of which took a dig at the Pak Army leader for the meeting. Some even compared him with a Rajpal Yadav character from the 2009 Bollywood film De Dana Dan. A scene from 'Chain Kulli ki Main Kulli', a 2007-released Hindi film, starring young star Zain Khan and Rahul Bose was also used for these hilarious memes. More funny and viral videos were also seen cropping up on the Internet for this upcoming meeting of the world leaders. The White House confirmed this Trump-Munir meeting through White House spokesperson Anna Kelly, who said the visit came in light of Munir's recent response in regard to Trump's role in halting the escalation of the conflict between India and Pakistan.
