On September 25th, Washington time, Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir entered the Oval Office of the White House and had a face-to-face discussion with U.S. President Trump.

The originally scheduled talks were delayed because Trump had to sign an executive order and speak to the media; the scene of these two from the Palestinian side waiting on the golden couch inside was captured by an AP reporter.
After the meeting, it was the Palestinian side that first released the group photo - in the picture, Trump is giving a thumbs up, smiling brightly, and these small details immediately add to the symbolic flavor of the event.
This meeting did not allow the media in, and the White House did not hold a joint press conference, but Reuters and Pakistan's Dawn newspaper confirmed the meeting and discussed some topics.
The question arises: can this quiet 80 minutes really pull the U.S. attitude towards South Asia back to the way it was in 1971?
1. Closed-door discussions and "independent dealings": How is the signal actually transmitted?
This conversation, whether in terms of process or external statements, feels quite extraordinary.
First of all, the rhythm was intentionally "dampened": not only was the entry delayed, but the media was also not allowed in, and even the news was released first by the Palestinian side, just to emphasize that "we are here to talk business seriously," without wanting to create too much flashy commotion.
There was news earlier that the event originally scheduled to start at 4:30 was delayed because Trump signed the executive order, which pushed it back by almost half an hour. The Pakistani side arrived around 5 o'clock and left shortly after 6.
Secondly, the participants at the meeting also reveal a lot of political maneuvering: on the Pakistani side, both the Prime Minister and the military chief are present, clearly indicating an intention to highlight the decision-making structure of "civilian and military jointly making decisions" in Islamabad; the Prime Minister's office also mentioned that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were present, which implies that "we are here to seriously restart relations, not just chatting casually."
Moreover, the topic of conversation was particularly clear: the Pakistani side first thanked the United States for "publicly acknowledging our role in counter-terrorism," emphasizing the need for intelligence and security cooperation; they also proactively submitted a list for investment — in sectors such as agriculture, information technology, mining, and energy, seeking to attract American capital and technology to come and establish operations.
Reuters also reported that when Shabazz met, he specifically called on American companies to invest in these sectors.
More importantly, what is said here in the United States hides two key phrases: "warming relations" and "mutual independence."
The Dawn newspaper quoted a U.S. official who hinted before the meeting that U.S.-Pakistan relations have "slowly warmed up" during Trump's second term and that they are "not related to U.S.-India relations."
This does not contradict the claim that the United States has treated India as the "Indo-Pacific core" over the past decade, but it is clear that the U.S. intends to pursue a "two-track approach" in South Asia: with India, it will continue the "strategic dialogue + supply chain cooperation" model; with Pakistan, it will revitalize the "security cooperation + pilot investment" approach.