WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is scheduled to hold talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on July 25 during his high-level visit to the United States, officials said Tuesday.
According to sources familiar with the development, this will be Dar’s first official meeting with Secretary Rubio.
While the detailed agenda has not yet been made public, diplomatic insiders believe that Dar is expected to convey Pakistan’s gratitude to US President Donald Trump for his role in helping de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India following the recent border conflict.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed the upcoming meeting, stating that senior leaders from both sides will be present, and she herself will attend.
The meeting comes just weeks after Pakistan formally recommended President Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. The request was sent to the Nobel Committee in Norway, signed by Dar himself, recognising Trump’s “extraordinary role” in restoring calm in South Asia.
President Trump had earlier acknowledged Kashmir as a long-standing, unresolved issue and offered to help mediate a solution, a move Pakistan welcomed immediately. India, however, rejected the offer and continues to avoid talks.
Dar’s meeting with Rubio unfolds at a time when Indian aggression along the border remains unchecked, and New Delhi has unilaterally suspended the Indus Waters Treaty, refusing to participate in neutral negotiations over water-sharing rights.
The standoff is expected to feature in the discussions, alongside the Kashmir issue and broader bilateral matters.
Trade and economic cooperation between Pakistan and the US may also come up during the talks, according to diplomatic sources.
The April attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam killed 26 men and triggered fierce fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours, the latest flashpoint in their decades-old rivalry.
India pinned blame on Pakistan for the Pahalgam killings, but Islamabad rejected the accusation and called for an impartial probe.
On May 7, Indian jets bombed multiple sites in Pakistan, setting off an exchange of attacks between the two countries by fighter jets, missiles, drones, and artillery that killed dozens until the ceasefire was reached.
