Two of Pakistan’s top news channels, Geo News and ARY News, have withdrawn reports they aired earlier, which claimed that US President Donald Trump was planning to visit Pakistan in September. The news caused quite a stir, but both channels later admitted they had broadcast the information without confirming it first.

Geo News issued an apology, saying, “Geo News apologises to its viewers for airing the news without a verification.” A senior official from ARY News told Reuters that the channel retracted the story after Pakistan’s Foreign Office clarified it had no knowledge of any such visit.

Earlier in the day, several TV stations claimed that Trump would arrive in Islamabad in September and possibly head to India afterward.

The White House stepped in to clear the air. A US official told media outlets, “A trip to Pakistan has not been scheduled at this time.” Similarly, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Islamabad told Reuters, “We have nothing to announce.”

Foreign Office Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan also responded, telling Dawn.com, “We have no information about this matter.”

NO PLANS FOR PAK VISIT

Though there is no official visit planned, US-Pakistan relations have recently improved. Last month, Donald Trump made headlines by hosting Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the White House — something no US president had done before.

It has been nearly two decades since a sitting US president last visited Pakistan. The last visit took place in 2006 when then-President George W. Bush paid a visit to the country.

Meanwhile, Trump does have confirmed travel plans — just not to Pakistan. Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles will host the US president in the United Kingdom from September 17 to 19. This will mark Trump’s second state visit to Britain, an unusual move that royal watchers have called unprecedented.

– Ends

With inputs from Reuters

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