UAE President’s Pakistan Visit Was Private, No State-Level Engagements Held: Sources | Exclusive

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari did not receive UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during his recent visit to Pakistan, with the brief interaction involving Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instead taking place at the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi, senior diplomatic sources told CNN-News18.

According to officials, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s trip was a private visit rather than a state engagement.

As per diplomatic protocol, a visiting head of state on an official visit is formally welcomed by the host country’s president. However, President Zardari did not meet the UAE leader at any point during the visit.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed that the UAE President neither travelled to Islamabad

nor visited the President House or the Prime Minister House.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar went to the Nur Khan Airbase to meet Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, where the interaction was brief and informal.

Top diplomatic sources said the meeting between the UAE President and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lasted only four to five minutes and was largely limited to a courtesy exchange and photographs.

No formal bilateral talks were held, and no memoranda of understanding (MoUs) or agreements were signed.

Sources further stated that Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed declined invitations to visit Islamabad and spent his entire stay in Rawalpindi.

The UAE President reportedly remained at the Army House and General Headquarters (GHQ) for around five hours before departing Pakistan.

Security sources said Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir had invited the UAE President to attend a private family function at the Army House, which formed the primary purpose of the visit.

Despite the absence of state-level engagements, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a curtain-raiser indicating potential agreements in areas such as trade, investment and energy. However, officials confirmed that no agreements or MoUs were concluded.

The Prime Minister’s Office later released a separate communique, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on social media regarding the visit. Sources described these moves as unilateral efforts to project the private visit as diplomatically significant.

Officials added that government institutions and sections of the media portrayed the visit as a state engagement, despite the lack of formal meetings or outcomes.

Security sources said a brief discussion took place between Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Field Marshal Asim Munir on the proposed International Stabilisation Force for Gaza, though details remain limited.

Field Marshal Munir is expected to travel to the UAE in the coming weeks for further discussions, sources added.