Donald Trump did not need to say anything out loud. A single Truth Social post did the work for him. While laying out his vision for expanding the Abraham Accords as part of a broader Iran peace framework, the US President listed the leaders he had spoken to over the weekend — Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Zayed of the UAE, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt. Each was named by their proper head-of-state title. Then came Pakistan. Trump wrote one name: Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir Ahmed Shah. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was not mentioned. Not even in passing.
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Every Other Leader Got Their Title. Pakistan Got Its Army Chief.
The contrast was impossible to ignore. Trump did not make the same mistake with any other country. Saudi Arabia got its Crown Prince. Turkey got its elected President. Egypt got its head of state. Pakistan got its military chief — a man who holds no elected office and answers to no civilian mandate. In diplomatic protocol, this was not a slip. It was a statement.
Trump’s Pattern With Munir Is No Secret
This did not come out of nowhere. Trump has been openly and repeatedly effusive about Asim Munir for over a year. He called him “a great guy” after hosting him at the White House in June 2025 — a meeting that took place before Shehbaz Sharif had ever set foot in the Oval Office. At the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit, with Sharif standing just behind him, Trump publicly referred to Munir as “my favourite field marshal.” On other occasions, he described the army chief as “a great fighter,” “a very important guy,” and “an exceptional human being.” Munir, analysts note, secured direct access to Trump and his inner circle long before Pakistan’s civilian government did.
