The U.S State Department doesn’t know if PM Imran Khan is officially visiting the United States.
According to Dawn, in a briefing which was held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Dr. Mohammad Faisal, announced that Prime Minister Imran Khan would be visiting the United States on the invitation of President Donald Trump.
The transcription for the briefing by the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs was also made available on the ministry’s official website which also allegedly cited these claims.
MOFA @MOFAPakistan confirmed in the presser on the 4th of July that PM Imran khan will be visiting the US on the 22nd of July at the invitation of Donald Trump.
Let’s not blame #Dawn, this government is a hot mess!
https://t.co/0oQNI8a0wz pic.twitter.com/mCFHz7IH7q— Ali Baloch (@maXes_MB) July 10, 2019
The visit was said to be a way for leaders of both the countries to talk about bilateral relations which would benefit them both.
However, Morgan Ortagus, the Spokesperson for the United States State Department denied knowledge of Imran Khan’s impending official visit. In a video of her press briefing earlier, she said she did not know of Imran Khan’s official visit and had only seen the same reports as the reporters in the room.
Meanwhile this is what state dept had to say. Hopefully a clarification will come soon. pic.twitter.com/SKduI8FhSt
— Zarrar Khuhro (@ZarrarKhuhro) July 10, 2019
However, she mentioned that she would contact the White House to confirm whether an official visit was planned since she currently has no knowledge about it.
After all of this confusion, people were wondering what was true and what wasn’t. A lot of people wondered whether Imran Khan’s visit was not official and felt a little disturbed by the idea that the news of a meeting being planned between both heads of state might be fake.
Is your Foreign Minister & incompetent FO maliciously trying to degrade you in the International community #Imran Khan? U.S. State Department says, there is no meeting fixed with Trump; & your meeting with Putin is now said to be a rumour! Are you begging for meetings Imran Khan?
— Daniyal B. Ali (@b_daniyal) July 10, 2019
Imran khan will meet Donald Trump on july 22! Thats fake?
— Shabby (@Shabby77296614) July 10, 2019
After the Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department denied her knowledge about the meeting scheduled between Imran Khan and Donald Trump, the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs immediately tried to do damage control and issued a tweet.
We wish to caution against speculation about PM’s visit. We are in close contact with the U.S. side. As per practice, formal announcements are made at the appropriate time.
— Dr Mohammad Faisal (@ForeignOfficePk) July 10, 2019
According to the tweet, the news would be made official during the appropriate time and should not be rushed. However, people did not buy this explanation and instead blamed the Ministry for not knowing when to make this information public in the first place.
They quoted the Ministry’s Spokespersons exact words regarding the meeting.
The ‘speculation’ that PM Imran Khan would travel to the US and meet President Trump on July 22 had come from..wait for it..the foreign office spokesman who announced it at a press briefing attended by dozens of journalists. What speculation? The media did its job & quoted the FO https://t.co/AKYtQQE564
— Mehreen Zahra-Malik (@mehreenzahra) July 10, 2019
'At the invitation of US President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Imran Khan will visit Washington and hold a meeting with President Trump on 22 nd July 2019. Agenda of the meeting is being developed through diplomatic channels.' https://t.co/j45A6f4nil
— Po̤̘̦͂́̀͌͢p̬͚̄̍̅͘͜ͅa̛̖̞̹̍̊͛ͅl̦̪̞̮̂͒͊͠z̺̬̘͖̎̃̑͝ai (@spopalzai) July 10, 2019
Umm, what's this then? https://t.co/flP80jCICP https://t.co/HvGjS4usUZ
— Annie (@quratula1n_s) July 10, 2019
This wasn’t a formal announcement— “Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet United States President Donald Trump on July 22, Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said on Thursday.”https://t.co/NHWq5yMR91 https://t.co/VTKKw2qrZB
— Benazir Shah (@Benazir_Shah) July 10, 2019
The entire thing is incredibly confusing. Was a meeting ever planned? Did Trump actually extend an invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan? The details are currently murky but since the trip is planned in a few days, we’ll know soon enough.
What do you think is the truth? Let us know in the comments below.
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