'Hope the food was good': Shashi Tharoor's jab on Trump's lunch with Pakistan's Munir; and Osama reminder

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday took a swipe at the luncheon between US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir, cautioning Washington about Islamabad's proven duplicity in dealing with terrorism.Munir had bagged a lunch invite at the White House after he recommended Trump for the Nobel Peace prize."I hope the food was good and he gets some food for thought in the process," Tharoor said, quipping at Munir attending Trump's dinner.The Thiruvananthapuram MP said: "I hope while the General (Munir) was being wined and dined, he got all these messages at the same time because that would also be in America's interest."Recalling how America's most-wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden was found holed up in a safe house near a Pakistani Army camp, Tharoor said people in "the US could not have forgotten the Osama episode so quickly"."Pakistan's culpability in hiding this man until he was finally found in a safe house near an Army camp can not easily be forgotten and forgiven by the Americans," he added. Throor, who led the Indian delegation to the US to brief American lawmakers about Operation Sindoor, said: "I hope that in these interactions, the Americans reminded Pakistan of not enabling, guiding, training, arming, financing, equipping, and dispatching terrorists to our country from their soil.

Some American Senators and Congressmen who met the Pakistani delegation did do this."Trump had also invited PM Modi to visit the United States after the conclusion of the G7 Summit in Canada's Calgary, which the PM declined, citing prior commitments.Although Trump left the G7 Summit early, he and PM Modi held a 35-minute phone call at Trump's request, in place of their planned in-person meeting on the summit sidelines. During the call, PM Modi invited President Trump to India for the next Quad summit, an invitation that Trump accepted. "While accepting the invitation, President Trump said that he is excited to come to India," Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said. The two leaders also discussed India’s recent counterterrorism actions under Operation Sindoor. Trump expressed strong support for India’s efforts to combat terrorism.