Reiterating his claim on brokering a truce between India and Pakistan, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that Pakistan army chief Asim Munir credited him for ending a potential war.
US President Donald Trump during a meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House, in Washington, DC, USA (PTI)
Referring to his recent meeting with the Pak Army chief and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Trump said: “He (Munir) said to a group of people that were with us… that this man (Trump) saved millions of lives because he saved the war from going on. That war was going to get very bad… I loved the way he said it”.
Military conflict escalated between India and Pakistan in May this year after the launch of Operation Sindoor, as part of which India struck terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The military action was to avenge the killing of 26 civilians in the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22.
At the height of the military conflict, a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Trump has on and off taken credit for the ceasefire claiming that he should get the noble prize for preventing wars.
“India and Pakistan were going at it. I called them both… They had just shot down seven planes… I said, if you do this, there’s not going to be any trade, and I stopped the war. It was raging for four days,” Trump said in his latest claim from the White House.
He further said that the Prime Minister and army chief were in the US, as he termed Munir as “a very important guy in Pakistan”. “I didn’t even realise it was as beautiful as he said it. He said to a group of people that were with us… that this man saved millions of lives because he saved the war from going on. That war was going to get very bad…” he said.
The statement comes as Trump noted his success with the Gaza peace plan. “Yesterday, we might have settled the biggest of them all. Although I’m not sure… Hamas has to agree. If they don’t, it will be very tough on them… All of the Arab nations, Muslim nations, have agreed. Israel has agreed. It’s an amazing thing,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, while announcing the Gaza peace plan with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said, “The Prime Minister and the Field Marshal of Pakistan were with us right from the beginning. Incredible. In fact, they have just issued a statement affirming their full commitment to this pact… They back this 100%.”
Trump compared the potential peace settlement in Gaza to his previous claims of diplomatic interventions, including India-Pakistan, noting, “I’ve settled so many wars… Pakistan and India were very big. Both nuclear powers. I settled that. But yesterday could be the settlement in the Middle East. That hasn’t happened for 3,000 years.”
Even as Trump repeatedly takes credit, India has always denied third party intervention in reaching the ceasefire with Pakistan. At the United Nations General Assembly last week, India maintained that no third party was involved in the truce as Pakistan’s military “pleaded” with it for a cessation of hostilities.