Pakistani TV quickly apologises after White House clarifies reports on Trump visiting Islamabad

A day after some Pakistani media went overboard with reports that US President Donald Trump will be visiting Islamabad in September, the White House issued a statement saying no such thing has been planned, forcing Pakistani media to apologise for misreporting.

A White House official on Thursday dismissed "rumours" of President Donald Trump visiting Pakistan . "There is no planned visit to Pakistan by the President at this time," a White House official said. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry also said that there is no information regarding the US President 's visit to Pakistan in September.

Two Pakistani television news channels reported on Thursday that Trump would be visiting Pakistan without any confirmation from either side. The reports that appeared on national TV, including Geo News and ARY News, set tongues wagging as no US President has visited the country in nearly two decades. "Geo News apologises to its viewers for airing the news without verification," Geo News said while ARY News retracted the story after Pakistan's Foreign Office denied the information.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Islamabad also told Reuters that "we have nothing to announce in this regard."

Both Geo and ARY news also reported that Trump would visit India after arriving in Pakistan.

The unverified reports created quite a stir as Pakistan now aims to rebuild its relations with the US after years. Islamabad’s relations with Washington saw a major boost when Trump at the White House last month and hosted a lunch. The visit, which happened just before the US decided to join the military campaign against Pakistan’s neighbour Iran, was celebrated by local media as a major achievement. Trump also used the opportunity to thank both India and Pakistan for the ceasefire after the Operation Sindoor.

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