Shehbaz, Trump to hold one-on-one meeting in Washington

NEW YORK:  Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and US President Donald Trump will hold a one-on-one meeting in Washington, according to reliable sources.

The meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday) at the White House in Washington.

According to sources, PM Shehbaz Sharif will be travelling to Washington from New York tonight along with a high level delegation.

 Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, along with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Indonesia had also met with Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, with the Gaza conflict topping the agenda.

 According to Emirati state news agency WAM, the discussions focused on efforts to end the ongoing war in Gaza and to secure a permanent ceasefire.

Trump meets Muslim leaders at UN, Gaza war dominates talks

The release of hostages and steps to ease the worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave were also identified as key priorities.

During the talks, Trump told Muslim leaders, “We want to end the war in Gaza and we will end it. It is possible that it may be ended now.”

He described the gathering as one of the most important meetings of his presidency, adding that “we are going to end something that we did not start.”

After the meeting, Trump and the leaders left the hall without commenting, only waving to the media.

US media has reported that Washington was pressing Arab and Muslim countries to send peacekeeping forces to Gaza to facilitate an Israeli withdrawal.