US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had once been "a little upset" with Pakistan over trade negotiations and went on to praise Pakistan's military leadership in front of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as he once again claimed credit for halting the 2024 India-Pakistan conflict.
Speaking at his Board of Peace event in Washington, Trump recalled his interactions with Islamabad while looking toward Sharif in the audience. "I got to know Pakistan through a little trade. They were trying to make too good a deal and I got a little upset with them," he said, before adding that the two sides eventually struck an agreement and that he had come to like the Pakistani leadership.
Trump also lauded Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, saying: "There was some fighting going on when I got to know him (Sharif) and your Field Marshal General. Great, Great General. Great Field Marshal, a great guy." He described Munir as "a tough man, a tough good fighter, serious fighter. I like good fighters, actually."
Revisiting the April 2024 crisis that followed the Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed, Trump repeated his assertion that he intervened directly to stop a wider war. India had launched Operation Sindoor in response, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
"He (Pakistani PM) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India...That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well...I called them, and I said, listen, I'm not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don't settle this up," Trump said.
He reiterated that he threatened steep economic penalties to force de-escalation. "And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I'm going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, it's nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we don't want to fight...11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets," he added.
Trump's latest remarks again raised the number of aircraft he claims were downed during the hostilities - this time to 11 - continuing a pattern of shifting figures in his retelling of the conflict.
India has consistently rejected Trump's assertion of third-party mediation, maintaining that the ceasefire understanding was reached bilaterally through the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries. New Delhi has also reiterated its longstanding position that all issues with Pakistan, including those related to Jammu and Kashmir, are to be addressed directly between the two sides without external involvement.
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