 "India-Pakistan hostilities settled, claims US President Donald Trump")
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that hostilities between Pakistan and India were settled. He was addressing American troops at a military base in Qatar during his Gulf tour.
He said both Pakistan and India were pleased with the outcome, noting that he had asked both nations to prioritise trade over conflict.
“I don't want to say I did, but I sure as hell helped settle the problem between Pakistan and India last week, which was getting more and more hostile,” Trump said. “And all of a sudden, you’ll start seeing missiles of a different type.”
Trump added that the situation had been volatile but was now, in his view, under control. “We got it settled—I hope. I hope I don't walk out of here and two days later find out that it's not settled, but I think it is settled.”
The US President once again reiterated that he had asked the nations to focus on trade over conflict.
“And we talked to them about trade. Let's do trade instead of do war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that, and I think they’re on the way,” he said.
Expressing optimism, Trump added, “We got that settled. Everybody was very happy. I’ll tell you, that looked like it was really going to be escalating out of control.”
India-Pak ceasefire understanding
India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire understanding on Saturday after days of military strikes following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22. Tensions between the two nations, however, remain high.
India has rejected Trump’s repeated offers to mediate the dispute with Pakistan over Jammu and Kashmir.
“That stated policy has not changed. As you are aware, the outstanding matter is the vacation of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan,” the Ministry of External Affairs had said on Tuesday, when asked about the offer.