Overview

• A White House photograph shows Army chief Asim Munir presenting a wooden box said to contain rare earth mineral samples to President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif looking on.
• Senator Aimal Wali Khan mocked the optics as a “salesman” display and questioned under what law Munir could showcase strategic resources, calling it contempt of parliament and a breach of democratic norms.
• Khan requested a joint session of Parliament and sought explanations on a reported Pakistan–Saudi defence arrangement and any Pakistani backing for Trump’s proposed Gaza plan linked to Munir’s U.S. outreach.
• Islamabad has promoted the visit as part of courting U.S. investment and security cooperation; coverage noted Sharif’s office praised Trump as a “man of peace,” and some reports said Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were involved in the meeting.
• Business reporting tied the photo-op to a recent minerals push, citing a $500 million deal between U.S. firm Strategic Metals and Pakistan’s Frontier Works Organisation to build a poly-metallic refinery, alongside Munir’s earlier claims of a national “rare earth treasure.”