'I Don't Want To Say I Did, But I Sure Helped': Donald Trump On India-Pakistan Ceasef
'I Don't Want To Say I Did, But I Sure Helped': Donald Trump On India-Pakistan Ceasefire
M.U.H
15/05/202593
US President Donald Trump on Thursday yet again reiterated his mediation efforts between India and Pakistan, saying that he “helped settle" the soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.
While addressing a crowd of US military personnel at al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Trump said, “I don’t wanna say I did but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile and all of a sudden you’ll start seeing missiles of a different type and we got it settled. I hope I don’t walk out of here and two days later find out that it is not settled, but I think it is settled."
The US President also claimed that he talked about trade to both India and Pakistan as a measure to stop the war-like situation that was unfolding between the two states. “And we talked to them about trade. Let’s do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that and I think they are on the way. They have been fighting for about a thousand years, in all fairness. I said I could settle that up. I could settle anything. Let me settle it up. Let’s get them all together," Trump said.
Trump’s reiterated his claim after India denied that there were any discussions of trade with the United States in the discussions that took place between the two countries since India launched airstrikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Trump Took Credit For Ceasefire
Immediately after the ceasefire between India and Pakistan last week, Trump had claimed he mediated between the two nations. Posting on Truth Social, Trump had said, “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire. Congratulations to both countries on using common sense and great intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
He had also portrayed the ceasefire as a major diplomatic success, stating that he had prevented a potential nuclear war and even envisioned the leaders of India and Pakistan dining together in peace.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had later issued a statement confirming that the governments of India and Pakistan had agreed to a full ceasefire and would begin talks on a broad range of issues at a neutral venue.
The US President had made similar claims after the ceasefire announcement. On Wednesday, Trump again said he had “brokered" a deal between India and Pakistan. “Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan, and I used trade to a large extent to do it," he had said.
“I said, fellas, come on, let’s make a deal. Let’s do some trading. Let’s not trade nuclear missiles. Let’s trade the things that you make so beautifully," he added.
India Rejected Trump’s Claim
However, the claims made by the US President were rejected by New Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs clarified that the ceasefire was achieved directly through military-to-military channels between the Directors General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan, without any involvement of any third party, including the US.
India has firmly rejected any suggestion of third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue, stating that the only pending matter is for Pakistan to return territories currently under its illegal occupation.
On Saturday evening, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to an immediate cessation of all firing and military activity across land, air and sea. The announcement followed four days of intense cross-border drone and missile engagements.
Additionally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the nation post Operation Sindoor had said, “India will only engage with Pakistan on two issues, terrorism and the return of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), ruling out any possibility of normal diplomatic dialogue.’
On Thursday, EAM Dr S Jaishankar said that India’s stance on Pakistan remains consistent — strictly bilateral engagement– a national consensus for years and there would be no shift in the stance.
Operation Sindoor
India launched “precision strikes" under Operation Sindoor on nine terror targets in Pakistan and PoK following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. The strikes killed at least 10 family members of JeM chief Masood Azhar and four close aides.
The sites targeted were the Pakistani bases at Rafiqui (Shorkot, Jhang), Murid (Chakwal), Nur Khan (Chaklala, Rawalpindi) Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur and Chunian (Kasur). In the strikes, the air bases in Skardu, Bholari, Jacobabad and Sargodha suffered extensive damage.
Within a tightly coordinated 24-minute window, India targeted 21 terror camps linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) across nine locations, four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The targets were not just aimed at avenging the Pahalgam attack, but also targeting terror sites where other such attacks were planned.
India-Pakistan Soaring Tensions
In one of the biggest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-linked terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on Tuesday, April 22, killing at least 26 people, including foreign tourists, and injuring many others. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later backtracked after massive global outrage.
After the attack, the diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan were downgraded with New Delhi announcing several punitive measures, including suspension of Indus Water Treaty, cutting Islamabad Mission strength, closing its airspace for Pakistani airlines and expulsion of its military attaches. In response, Pakistan undertook tit-for-tat measures and suspended the Shimla Agreement.
