What Donald Trump said on lunch meet with Pakistan Army chief: ‘Asim Munir was extremely…’
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What Donald Trump said on lunch meet with Pakistan Army chief: ‘Asim Munir was extremely…’
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday once again claimed credit for stopping a “war” between India and Pakistan. Trump praised both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Army chief General Asim Munir for their roles in de-escalating tensions in May. On May 7, Indian fighter jets bombed terrorist infrastructure sites across in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, triggering military tensions between the two nations for four days. Trump had said last month that the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war. However, PM Narendra Modi told Trump late on Tuesday that the ceasefire was achieved through talks between the Indian and Pakistani militaries and not US mediation, India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri said.
Speaking to reporters in Washington ahead of Asim Munir’s lunch with Donald Trump, the US president said, “I stopped the war between India and Pakistan. I love Pakistan, and Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night, and we will make a trade deal with Modi of India.”
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Trump said General Munir played a key role in calming the situation from the Pakistani side, while PM Modi was instrumental on behalf of India. “This man (Asim Munir) was extremely influential in stopping it from the Pakistani side, and PM Modi from the Indian side,” Trump said.
“They were going at it, and both are nuclear countries,” Trump added. “I stopped a war between two major nations,” he reiterated.
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However, PM Narendra Modi told Trump late on Tuesday that the ceasefire was achieved through talks between the Indian and Pakistani militaries and not US mediation, India’s foreign secretary Vikram Misri said earlier on Wednesday.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Trump would host Munir after he called for the president to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for preventing a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.
Trump had said last month that the nuclear-armed neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war.
Pakistan has thanked Washington for playing a mediating role.
India has repeatedly denied any third-party mediation, and Tuesday’s phone call between Modi and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, which Modi attended as a guest, was the two leaders’ first direct exchange since the May 7-10 conflict.
“PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-US trade deal or US mediation between India and Pakistan,” Misri said in a press statement.
“Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” he said.
Misri said the two leaders had been due to meet on the sidelines of G7 summit, but Trump left a day early due to the situation in the Middle East.
Trump asked Modi if he could stop by the US on his return from Canada, Misri said, but the Indian PM expressed his inability to do so due to a pre-decided schedule. He invited Trump to visit India later this year for the summit of the leaders of the Quad grouping, which Trump accepted, Misri said.
The heaviest fighting in decades between India and Pakistan was sparked by the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists.
On May 7, Indian fighter jets bombed terrorist infrastructure sites across in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, triggering military tensions between the two nations for four days.
Misri said Trump expressed his support for India’s fight against terrorism and that Modi told him India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’ under which it launched the cross-border strikes was still on.