Imran Khan to meet Trump on July 22

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan will meet US President Donald Trump on July 22, Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said on Thursday.

Khan will be visiting Washington on the invitation of Trump, Faisal said at a press conference, adding that during the visit the focus will be on further improving the ties between the two countries.

This will be Khan's first visit to the US since assuming power following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's victory in the 2018 general elections.

The confirmation of the meeting between the two leaders comes after the US State Department on Tuesday designated the Balo­chistan Liberation Army (BLA) as a global terrorist group, paving the way for similar actions by the UN and other states. 

Days ahead of the meeting, the top 13 leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), including its chief and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, were booked in nearly two dozen cases of terror financing and money laundering.

On June 27, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had announced that Trump had extended an invitation to Khan in June but he could not undertake the visit because of the budget session.

The foreign minister had also said that talks between the two leaders would focus on "important regional matters". Pakistan has helped the United States in jump-starting the ongoing US-Taliban dialogue.

According to Qureshi, the US President expressed his desire to meet the premier to discuss "important regional matters". IANS