ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Two leading Pakistani television news channels withdrew reports on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump planned to visit the South Asian nation, with one of them issuing an apology.
The White House dismissed the reports. “A trip to Pakistan has not been scheduled at this time,” a White House official said.
Geo and ARY news channels had said earlier on Thursday that Trump was expected to visit Pakistan in September. But both later withdrew their reports.
“Geo News apologises to its viewers for airing the news without a verification,” it said.
A senior management official at ARY told Reuters it backtracked after the foreign office said it had no knowledge of a visit.
George W. Bush was the last U.S. president to visit Pakistan in 2006.
U.S.-Pakistan relations saw a major boost when Trump hosted Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month in an unprecedented meeting.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid and Asif Shahzad; Additional reporting by Steve Holland in Washington; Writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by YP Rajesh, Bernadette Baum, Joe Bavier and Richard Chang)
