[1]Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Image from Flickr by DFID UK. CC BY
The Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and US President Barack Obama met in Washington [2] last week. Before the visit, there was speculation that Pakistan's nuclear program would be the focus of the talks, but minutes before the widely publicized meeting had even ended, a joint statement [3] appeared on a Pakistani government website explaining that the talks reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to fighting terrorism and supporting the peace process in Afghanistan.
Pakistani journalist Shaheen Sehbai tweeted:
STRANGE N CONFUSING: It's baffling how a 2,784 wd JointStatement of Nwaz-Obama mtng was on Pak Foreign Ministry website b4 the meeting ended
— SHAHEEN SEHBAI (@SSEHBAI1) October 22, 2015 [4]
Pakistani Senator Sherry Rehman tweeted:
Very unusual for a long joint statement to appear before the mtg is over! Obama-Sharif talks #WashingtonDC [5] https://t.co/KXCNOLZaBo [6]
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) October 22, 2015 [7]
Others on Twitter weighed in on the talks:
A confident #NawazSharif [8] in US .'Do more’ tactic has lost weight, US to pressurize Pakistan on the Nuclear Program. pic.twitter.com/3sxgfmZ7jG [9]
— Aaj Shahzeb Ke Saath (@GeoASKKS) October 20, 2015 [10]
Despite all the hoopla about nukes, seems to me the big agenda point for Sharif/Obama meeting will be Taliban peace talks & #Afghanistan [11].
— Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) October 19, 2015 [12]
What are the expectation from the visit of prime minister to US. Washington will put pressure to contain tactical nuclear weapons…..
— Asma Shirazi (@asmashirazi) October 20, 2015 [13]
$70 million to educate girls
Sharif's wife Kulsoom Nawaz and their daughter Maryam Nawaz also met the US First Lady Michelle Obama.
Arrived in Washington to see this note by the First Lady Michelle Obama. Beautiful gesture ! pic.twitter.com/e3q0uZGG7l [14]
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) October 20, 2015 [15]
Michelle Obama and Maryam Nawaz had a meeting during this short trip, during which Mrs Obama announced [16] they would give $70 million to educate girls in Pakistan.
Maryam Nawaz later thanked the Obamas on Twitter, along with publishing photos of a souvenir from them, but she tagged the wrong accounts to her tweet:
Thank you @BarackObama [17] & @MichelleObama [18] for your wonderful hospitality. pic.twitter.com/43gYWGoTyH [19]
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) October 22, 2015 [20]
‘Asian tiger’ Nawaz Sharif trends on Twitter
During the visit many Nawaz fans were tweeting about the visit using hashtags like #RealChangeWithRealPM [21] and #AsianTigerNawazSharif [22]:
In his last visit John Kerry called him Nawaz few times. This time Pak embassy in DC sent Kerry a msg to call him his excellency not Nawaz.
— Nazrana Yousufzai (@NazranaYusufzai) October 22, 2015 [23]
PM Nawaz's real challenge is to engage the U.S. Admin on a broader agenda from Afghanistan, Energy Corridors to Cultural & Academic Links!
— Moeed Pirzada (@MoeedNj) October 22, 2015 [24]
PM Nawaz Sharif reached Washington on US President's invitation. pic.twitter.com/sHCzyLeiXS [25]
— Khushbu Malik (@khushbu_malik) October 21, 2015 [26]
Not a staunch supporter of #PMLN [27] but seeing change all around. feeling better #RealChangeWithRealPM [21] pic.twitter.com/g5QZH8sfYJ [28]
— M. Daim Fazil Gondal (@DaimFazil) October 21, 2015 [29]
NS is a very courageous man, he is daring, i love him for that, highly principled and bold! <3 #RealChangeWithRealPM [21] pic.twitter.com/tiQO1MI5ol [30]
— Maryam PMLN (: (@AllthingsPAK) October 21, 2015 [31]
There are others who thought the US could play a role in showing Pakistan the right way. Malik Siraj Akbar [32] wrote in Huffington Post blog about 10 issues the US `president would raise with Pakistan's Sharif.
Hopes and pride
When the meeting started, #AsianTigerNawazSharif and #USPresident were trending in Pakistan. There were media reports about a '14 points agenda’ that had been handed over by Nawaz to Obama. A lot of the supporters of Nawaz were proud to see him with Obama once again and had many hopes attached.
Who Raised Kashmir Issue on International Platform bravely… #AsianTigerNawazSharif [22]
— Farhan Pervaiz (@fp_far) October 22, 2015 [33]
I think it's PM Sharif who should ask about the Afg refugee crisis. Pakistan already brimming with 3 million plus https://t.co/SSbsTrUKYf [34]
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) October 22, 2015 [35]