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The Star
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
US ‘had no role to play' in clinching India-Pakistan ceasefire: Indian Foreign Secretary
NEW DELHI: The US had no role to play in clinching a ceasefire between India and Pakistan and that the plea had come from Pakistan's director-general of military operations to his counterpart in Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri (pic) told a parliamentary panel on Monday (May 19) on cross-border security challenges post Operation Sindoor, sources said. The Foreign Secretary appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, headed by Congress Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor, to provide a comprehensive briefing on Operation Sindoor and recent tensions between India and Pakistan. He clarified that Pakistan had reached out to India for a ceasefire after the precision strikes by the Indian armed forces hit Pakistan military installations, including a China-made missile defence system in Lahore and the strategically important Nur Khan air base. Foreign Secretary's clarifications that the US had no role in brokering India-Pakistan ceasefire assumes added significance as it comes amid persistent opposition parties' demand from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on the repeated claims being bragged by US President Donald Trump that it was the US that brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Speaking at the US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum, Donald Trump had last Wednesday claimed that he persuaded both India and Pakistan to 'trade goods, not nuclear missiles.' Crediting trade diplomacy to be the crux of the efforts for easing tensions, Trump also praised leaders of both countries as 'smart and strong.' Seeking clarification from the government, the Congress had questioned: 'What do the typically loquacious PM and EAM have to say about this revelation? Did they mortgage India's security interests in the face of US pressure.' Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had questioned in a post on social media handle X: 'Americi Papa Ne War Rukwaa Di Kya? (Has the American Dad got the war stopped?)' However, the Ministry of External Affairs has since denied that trade played any part and the discussions only focused on the military situation. Last Tuesday the Congress had also alleged that the Prime Minister had 'deeply disappointed the nation' as he did not clarify the truth behind the US President's claim that it was the US that brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Claiming that the Prime Minister in his address to the nation last Monday 'did not clarify so many things for which the country was waiting to know,' senior party leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, had also alleged: 'The government has lost both, the moral courage and moral authority……. there was shock and surprise across the country over the sudden ceasefire which too was announced by the US President.' Misri also pointed out that the allegations against External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar of informing Pakistan before launching an airstrike were misrepresentations of facts and that he has been misquoted. - The Statesman/ANN
Mint
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
‘Trump not receiving enough credit': Karoline Leavitt claims Kashmiri man praised US President for India-Pakistan truce
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on May 15, shared an anecdote from her breakfast in Doha, Qatar, where a waiter from Kashmir reportedly thanked US President Donald Trump for helping bring about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. "...my waiter told me to thank President Trump for him," Leavitt wrote. "I asked him why. He told me he is from Kashmir, and he has been unable to return home in recent weeks due to the India-Pakistan conflict. But he was just notified that he's now able to return, thanks to the ceasefire mediated by President Trump, @VP & @SecRubio." According to Leavitt, the waiter felt that Trump's role in defusing the crisis has not received proper recognition. 'He said President Trump is not receiving enough credit for literally preventing a nuclear war — and he is right!' she stated in her post. Leavitt used the anecdote to underscore what she described as a broader foreign policy shift under President Trump, characterising his current trip to the Middle East as transformative. "President Trump inherited so many conflicts around the globe, and he is tackling them one at a time," she wrote. "This historic trip to the Middle East has marked a significant turn in U.S. foreign policy in the region that will finally usher the Golden Age of the Middle East!" Concluding her message, Leavitt echoed a familiar Trump-era slogan: "Peace, through strength, is being restored!" Speaking at the US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum in Qatar on May 13, Trump declared: 'Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan. I used trade to a large extent. I said let's make a deal, let's do some trading. Let's not trade nuclear missiles, let's trade the things you make so beautifully.' He praised the leadership in both nations, saying: 'Both have very powerful, strong and smart leaders. It all stopped and hopefully it will remain that [India-Pakistan] are actually getting along.' The remarks came days after India launched precision strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists. Pakistan responded with strikes on Indian military installations on May 8, 9, and 10. The Indian armed forces countered with retaliatory attacks on several Pakistani military targets. Hostilities ended on May 10 after a mutual decision to cease all military actions on land, air, and sea. Indian government sources said this understanding was reached through Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)-level talks between the two countries.
Express Tribune
14-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Trump says he prevented apocalyptic Indo-Pak war
Listen to article US President Donald Trump has yet again claimed credit for easing tensions between Pakistan and India, boasting that he brokered peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, as he cast himself as a peacemaker. Speaking at US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum, the president also reiterated that he "used trade to a large extent" to get the two countries to halt strikes at each other. "Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan. I used trade to a large extent. I said let's make a deal, let's do some trading. Let's not trade nuclear missiles, let's trade the things you make so beautifully," Trump said to applause from the audience. Speaking on India-Pakistan understanding, Donald Trump said, "Both have very powerful, strong and smart leaders. It all stopped and hopefully it will remain that [India-Pakistan] are actually getting along." "Maybe we can even get them together to go out and have a nice dinner. Millions of people could have died from that conflict that started off small and was getting bigger and bigger by the day." Trump is in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his four-day trip to the Gulf region. The US president also applauded the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. "Marco stand up. What a great job you did on that. Thank you. Vice President JD Vance, Marco, the whole group worked with you, but there's a great, great job, and think they're actually getting along." The US president he would lift sanctions on Syria to offer it a chance for "greatness" after Bashar al-Assad's fall. On a state visit to Saudi Arabia primarily aimed at securing billions of dollars of investment, the billionaire president took aim both at the US left and right who he said had intervened in the region in the guise of "nation builders" but "wrecked far more nations than they built". Trump renewed his offer for a better US relationship with longtime nemesis Iran, although he warned the nation's rulers of consequences if ongoing talks with his administration failed. In his most significant announcement, Trump said he would end sweeping US sanctions on Syria, in place for decades and ramped up dramatically during the iron-fisted rule of Assad, who was overthrown by Islamist-led forces in December. "I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness," Trump said in a speech in Riyadh. "The sanctions were brutal and crippling," he said. "But now it's their time to shine." Trump will at least "say hello" to Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Riyadh on Wednesday, a US official said. In announcing the move, Trump said he was listening to the appeals of Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmanwho joined the crowd in cheering the announcementas well as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. The Trump administration has held four rounds of talks with Iran on reaching a nuclear accord to avoid war. Trump, who himself pulled out of an earlier nuclear agreement with Tehran in his first term, sharply criticised Iran's leaders, saying they had "focused on stealing their people's wealth to fund terror and bloodshed abroad" and "dragged down an entire region with them." But he added: "I'm here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran's leaders, but to offer them a new pathand a much better pathtoward a far better and more hopeful future". If the talks fail, however, Trump said he would "have no choice but to inflict massive maximum pressure", including using sanctions to curtail all Tehran's oil exports. Trump's speech took on much of the tone of his domestic rhetoric. He lashed out at US rivals and even brought the Saudi crown prince on stage to the sound of the Village People's "YMCA", a gay anthem turned Trump campaign song. But the US president said that he still saw himself as a "peacemaker". "In the case of Iran, I have never believed in having permanent enemies. I am different than a lot of people think," Trump said. Arm deals President Donald Trump secured a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the United States on a trip to the Gulf. The US agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to the White House which called it "the largest defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done. Trump has sought to strengthen relations with the Saudis to improve regional ties with Israel and act as a bulwark against Iran. The agreement covers deals with more than a dozen US defense companies in areas including air and missile defense, air force and space advancement, maritime security and communications, the fact sheet said. The Saudi prince said the deal included investment opportunities worth $600 billion, including deals worth $300 billion that were signed during Trump's visit. "We will work in the coming months on the second phase to complete deals and raise it to $1 trillion," he said. Saudi Arabia is one of the largest customers for US arms. Reuters reported in April the US was poised to offer the kingdom an arms package worth well over $100 billion. "I really believe we like each other a lot," Trump said during a meeting with the crown prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. The US and Saudi Arabia had discussed Riyadh's potential purchase of Lockheed F-35 jets, two sources briefed on discussions told Reuters, referring to a military aircraft that the kingdom is long thought to have been interested in. It was not immediately clear whether those aircraft were covered in the deal announced on Tuesday. With additional input from Agencies
Indian Express
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Used trade to a large extent': Trump doubles down on claim of brokering India-Pakistan peace
Hours after India's Ministry of External Affairs dismissed claims by US President Donald J Trump that a ceasefire between India and Pakistan was brokered with American involvement and hinged on trade negotiations, Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his assertions — including a dire warning that the world narrowly avoided 'a bad nuclear war.' Speaking at the US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum, Trump insisted, '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. 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.' 'Millions of people could have died from that conflict that started small and was getting bigger and bigger and bigger by the day,' he said, adding that the US had also been working relentlessly to 'end the terrible bloodshed' between Russia and Ukraine. Trump on India-Pakistan: 'Maybe we could even get them together a little bit, Marco, where they go out and have a nice dinner together. Wouldn't that be nice?' — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 13, 2025 He also praised the US lawmakers involved in the diplomatic effort. 'I was very proud of Marco Rubio ( United States secretary of state) and all of the people that worked so hard. Marco, stand up. What a great job you did on that… JD Vance (US vice president), Marco, the whole group worked with you.' The remarks followed a May 10 post on Truth Social, in which Trump announced that his administration had mediated an 'immediate and full ceasefire' between the two South Asian rivals after a surge in tensions after India launched Operation Sindoor — a cross-border strike on terror targets inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) — in response to a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam, which claimed 26 civilian lives. On Monday, Trump told reporters: 'I said [to the Indian and Pakistani leaderships], let's stop it. If you stop it, we're doing trade. If you don't stop it, we're not going to do any trade.' 'I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed,' he had said. India wasted little time pushing back on Trump's assertions. At a media briefing in New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India's longstanding position that Jammu and Kashmir is a bilateral issue to be resolved between India and Pakistan alone. 'We have a long-standing national position that any issues pertaining to the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have to be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. That stated policy has not changed,' Jaiswal said. He also disputed the role of trade in discussions between Indian and American leaders. 'The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions,' he said. 'Operation Sindoor was entirely in the conventional domain,' he added, rejecting Trump's nuclear scenario as speculative. 'As you know, India has a firm stance that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail or allow cross-border terrorism to be conducted invoking it.' Jaiswal clarified that Operation Sindoor was aimed exclusively at 'terrorist infrastructure operating out of Pakistan,' and that India had pre-briefed global partners accordingly. 'If the Pakistani military stayed out, there would be no problem,' he said, adding that several foreign governments were informed that India's actions would remain limited and proportionate.
Mint
13-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Donald Trump again boasts he brought peace between India, Pakistan: ‘Used trade to a large extent'
US President Donald Trump has yet again claimed credit for easing tensions between India and Pakistan, boasting that he brokered peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Speaking at US-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum, Donald Trump also reiterated that he 'used trade to a large extent' to get the two countries to halt strikes at each other. 'Just days ago, my administration successfully brokered a historic ceasefire to stop the escalating violence between India and Pakistan. I used trade to a large extent. I said let's make a deal, let's do some trading. Let's not trade nuclear missiles, let's trade the things you make so beautifully,' Trump said to applause from the audience. Speaking on India-Pakistan understanding, Donald Trump said, 'Both have very powerful, strong and smart leaders. It all stopped and hopefully it will remain that [India-Pakistan] are actually getting along.' 'Maybe we can even get them together to go out and have a nice dinner. Millions of people could have died from that conflict that started off small and was getting bigger and bigger by the day.' Donald Trump is in Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his four-day trip to the Gulf region. The US President also applauded the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. 'Marco stand up. What a great job you did on that. Thank you. Vice President JD Vance, Marco, the whole group worked with you, but there's a great, great job, and think they're actually getting along.' Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has rejected the 'trade' offer that Donald Trump claimed to put forth before India and Pakistan, allegedly getting them to agree to an 'immediate ceasefire'. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said 'the issue of trade did not come up in any discussion.' 'From the time of Operation Sindhoor, which commenced on 7th May, till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on 10th May, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of these discussions,' Randhir Jaiswal said. After four days of exchanging fire, India and Pakistan reached a 'bilateral understanding' to cease all fire on May 10.
