Pak PM to meet Trump on UNGA sidelines

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to meet US President Donald Trump in New York on September 23 during the United Nations General Assembly week, according to a media report cited by news agency PTI.

Sharif is among the world leaders invited to a reception dinner being hosted by Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on September 23, The News reported, citing high-level sources. The event is scheduled at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel on Madison Avenue. The dinner could give Sharif an opportunity to hold discussions with Trump as well as other heads of state and government attending the UNGA.

The proposed meeting comes months after the two leaders met at the inaugural Board of Peace meeting in Washington in February. They had previously held talks at the White House in September 2025 and met again during the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit in Egypt in October last year.

Sharif is expected to arrive in New York on September 22 and address the UN General Assembly on September 25. According to the report, he is likely to use his address to raise Pakistan's concerns over India's decision to keep the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance. India suspended the 1960 treaty in April 2025 following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. New Delhi said the pact would remain in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably ended its support for crossborder terrorism. The Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, sets out the framework for sharing the waters of six rivers in the Indus river system between the two countries.

Sharif is also expected to speak about Pakistan's new security partnership with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, creating a collective defence framework under which an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all three.

The 81st UN General Assembly's high-level General Debate will be held from September 22 to 26 and on September 28 at the UN headquarters in New York. Sharif is scheduled to speak fourth during the second half of the session on September 25.

Shehbaz Sharif's proposed meeting with Trump comes against the backdrop of India's diplomatic engagement with major global powers, highlighted by the Brics Summit 2026 hosted by New Delhi. The summit brought together leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, underlining India's role in engaging with key powers across geopolitical blocs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced the unanimous adoption of the New Delhi Declaration by Brics leaders. The summit also saw Brics leaders condemn the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. In their joint statement, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to combating terrorism in all its forms and called for a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism.