Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Nov 6: US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for bringing peace between India and Pakistan, stating that the two nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to end hostilities in May after he threatened to cancel trade deals with both nations if they continued their military conflict.
Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Trump said, “In eight months, I ended eight wars, including Kosovo and Serbia, and Congo and Rwanda... Pakistan and India.”
Recalling the events, Trump added, “I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them, and then I read on the front page that they were going to war. Seven planes were shot down, and the eighth was badly wounded. I said, ‘This is war, and they are two nuclear nations.’ I told them, ‘I’m not going to make any trade deals with you guys unless you agree to peace.’”
According to Trump, his intervention prompted both nations to agree to stop hostilities within a day. “They called me and said, ‘We made peace.’ I said, ‘Thank you. Let’s do trade.’ Isn’t that great? Tariffs did that,” he remarked, drawing applause from the audience.
The president has made similar claims over 60 times since May 10, when he announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire” after what he described as a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington.
However, India has consistently rejected any notion of third-party mediation, maintaining that all matters with Pakistan are bilateral.
The recent tensions between the two neighbours stemmed from India’s Operation Sindoor launched on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians. After four days of intense cross-border drone and missile exchanges, India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to halt the conflict.
In his wide-ranging speech, Trump also claimed to have resolved several other international conflicts, including those involving Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Cambodia and Thailand.
“All of them were in war... Some for 32 years, one for 38 years. I got some of these settled in an hour. No help from the United Nations at all,” he said.
Boasting about his “peace through strength” policy, Trump added, “They know they’re not going to mess around with us. Nobody’s going to mess around with us.”
He also touched upon his recent trade agreements with China, Japan, and Malaysia, calling them “great economic deals great for everybody.”