Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to meet U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday. The meeting will take place at 4:30 p.m. local time in the Oval Office.

While the final list of participants in the meeting had not been confirmed at the time of reporting, security sources suggested that Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, could also be in attendance. However, no official confirmation of his presence had been given.

Sharif is currently in New York and is expected to travel to Washington, D.C. on Thursday afternoon. Following the meeting at the White House, he will return to New York to deliver his address at the United Nations General Assembly on September 26.

Although the agenda of the meeting has not been publicly disclosed, observers believe the discussions are linked to the recent summit held at the White House on the Gaza crisis, where leaders of several Muslim-majority countries participated. That gathering included heads of state and government from Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, alongside Pakistan.

In recent months, ties between the United States and Pakistan have grown closer under Trump’s administration. This is in contrast to Washington’s increasingly strained relations with India, which have faced challenges over visa disputes, tariffs on Indian goods, and Trump’s claims earlier in the year of having played a mediating role in a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.

On July 31, the U.S. and Pakistan signed a trade agreement that set tariffs at 19 percent on selected goods, marking a step forward in bilateral economic cooperation. By comparison, Washington has yet to finalize any such trade deal with New Delhi, reflecting the shifting balance in U.S. engagement in South Asia.

Earlier this year, in February, Army Chief Asim Munir held a one-on-one meeting with President Trump at the White House following a direct invitation from the U.S. president. That encounter was unprecedented, as it was the first time a Pakistani military chief met a sitting U.S. president without the presence of senior civilian officials. The event drew significant attention in both countries and highlighted the evolving dynamics of U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Analysts interpret the upcoming meeting between Shehbaz Sharif and Trump as further evidence that Washington is re-evaluating its strategic approach to Islamabad. According to experts, the U.S. may be exploring ways to strengthen its partnership with Pakistan as part of a broader recalibration of its South Asia policy. Some suggest this could reflect a U.S. attempt to establish a new balance in the region, particularly given the ongoing tensions in U.S.-India relations and the shifting dynamics in the Middle East.

The meeting is also expected to address pressing geopolitical issues, though neither side has confirmed specific topics. With Pakistan’s central role in regional security and its connections with the broader Muslim world, the White House talks may provide both countries with an opportunity to deepen dialogue on matters ranging from counterterrorism to trade and strategic cooperation.

The scheduled meeting between Sharif and Trump is being closely monitored in both Washington and Islamabad, as it could signal a new phase in bilateral relations at a time when global alliances are shifting and regional crises continue to demand coordinated responses.