ISLAMABAD: The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Thursday stepped in to quash rumours that Army Chief Gen Asim Munir made a secret trip to the United States while on a visit to the United Kingdom.

“There have been baseless speculations on social media that [the] COAS is visiting USA,” the ISPR tweeted.

The rumours that Gen Munir quietly flew across the Atlantic began after a former army officer, currently based in Britain, claimed in a tweet that the army chief’s aircraft went to the US on Feb 6 and landed at New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport.

The claim soon went viral, sparking speculation about the reasons behind the secret travel. The wave of rumours was so strong that even some well-known journalists fell victim to it.

The ISPR, while denying that Gen Munir travelled to the US, recalled that he was on an official visit to UK from Feb 5 to 10 in connection with the fifth Pakistan-UK Stabilisation Conference — a bi-annual event for military-to-military cooperation between the two countries.

The conference is being held since 2016 and senior Pakistani military officials have regularly participated in it.

Meanwhile, Gen Munir left the UK on Thursday morning to return home and made a stop over in Abu Dhabi.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.