Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed that he played a key role in defusing tensions between India and Pakistan by threatening to impose massive tariffs on both countries, saying the move “stopped the fighting” between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Trump said his “ability” to use trade and tariffs as diplomatic leverage helped bring “peace to the world” in multiple conflict zones.
Tariffs, he said, “give you a tremendous road to peace and the saving of millions of lives, just millions and millions of lives”.
He said several countries had been engaged in prolonged conflicts, with millions killed over the years. “Not in all cases, but probably at least five of the seven (peace deals) we’ve done so far were by trade, that we are not going to deal with people who fight, and we’re going to put tariffs on you…”
Referring to India and Pakistan, Trump said, “You look at India and Pakistan, I said, well, we are not going to do business with either of you if you don’t put it together. These are two nuclear nations. Seven planes were shot down as you know, and they were really at it… I said we are not going to do any business with you, we are not going to have anything to do with you, we are going to out massive tariffs on you, and in both cases, they said, Well, we’re going to start talking about it. There are tremendous amounts of money and power that we are dealing with and within 24 hours, I had a peace deal that they stopped the fighting …”
Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. The operation targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The Indian Armed Forces also repelled subsequent Pakistani aggression and hit its airbases.
Following India’s strong response, Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart to seek a cessation of hostilities.
Earlier, on October 3, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A PSingh said that during Operation Sindoor, the IAF destroyed 12–13 of Pakistan’s combat aircraft, including “four to five F-16s on ground and five F-16s and JF-17s in the air along with two spy planes.”
Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the 93rd Air Force Day in New Delhi, the Chief of Air Staff said five Pakistani fighter jets — “which could be F-16s or Pakistan’s ‘pride’, the backbone of its air force, Chinese JF-17s” — were shot down using the long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) S-400 *Triumf* “Sudarshan Chakra” system.
He added that another “four to five F-16s, which were undergoing maintenance in hangars, were destroyed after the IAF peppered them,” and that several Pakistani airbases were cratered, damaging “radars, command centres, runways, hangars, and a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.”
Trump has frequently repeated his claim of mediating peace between India and Pakistan. On September 21, he reiterated the statement while speaking at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder’s Dinner, saying he should be honoured with the Nobel Prize for “ending seven wars.”
“We are forging peace agreements, and we are stopping wars. So we stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia,” Trump said. “Think of India and Pakistan. Think of that. And you know how I stopped that — with trade. They want to trade. And I have great respect for both leaders. But when you take a look at all of these wars that we’ve stopped,” he added.
However, India has consistently refuted Trump’s claims, maintaining that issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir are strictly bilateral and that no third-party mediation is acceptable.
