The US President Donald Trump appeared resolute, almost obdurate, in asserting his intervention in the fraught confrontation between India and Pakistan, as he once again claimed credit for averting a nuclear conflagration while lamenting the loss of eleven costly fighter jets during the hostilities, a contention New Delhi had repeatedly repudiated whenever Trump revived the claim.
Speaking at what was described as the Board of Peace Event in Washington, Trump reiterated that he had personally intervened to arrest the escalation between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, asserting that the conflict had reached a perilous crescendo, with aircraft being shot down and hostilities threatening to spiral beyond conventional parameters.
He maintained that as many as “11 expensive jets” had been downed during the confrontation last year, although he has, on earlier occasions, furnished varying figures regarding aerial losses.
Trump further claimed that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had acknowledged his role in halting the war, stating in the presence of his chief of staff that the American President had “saved 25 million lives” by preventing a catastrophe of immeasurable proportions.
According to Trump’s account, the war had been raging with mounting ferocity until he personally telephoned both Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning them that continued aggression would invite severe economic reprisals from Washington.
He claimed that he had threatened to suspend trade negotiations and to impose tariffs of up to 200 per cent on both countries if they failed to de-escalate, contending that the spectre of financial haemorrhage proved more persuasive than the allure of military triumph. “They both wanted to fight,” Trump remarked, while suggesting that fiscal deterrence ultimately eclipsed martial ardour.
India, however, has consistently repudiated Trump’s assertions, maintaining that the cessation of firing on May 10 had been achieved through direct military-to-military engagement between the Directors General of Military Operations of the two countries, rather than through any third-party mediation.
New Delhi has underscored that the understanding emerged from established bilateral mechanisms, thereby refuting claims of external brokerage.
Midway through his address, Trump once again invoked Modi, stating that the Indian Prime Minister was “watching” the proceedings and describing him as “a great man,” even as Sharif was present at the gathering.
India participated in the event as an observer, represented by its Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington, alongside other observer nations including Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.