Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 18: Proving the BJP’s claims wrong, the US president Donald Trump sticking to his earlier stand has again on Wednesday claimed credit for “stopping the war” between India and Pakistan in the wake of India launching “Operation Sindoor” in response to the Pahalgam terror attack last month.
The BJP had earlier in the day called the Congress “liar” for questioning the government’s claim of a “diplomatic win” for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having strongly rebutted during his telephonic talks with Mr Trump on Wednesday that India had agreed to the ceasefire at the request of Pakistan and the US had no role in stopping the war.
Sticking to his position despite Mr Modi’s call, Mr Trump not only once again, claimed credit for “stopping the war” between the two countries and even also complained that media did not do enough to recognise his contribution. “Not one story” had been written about it, he lamented.
What was worse, Mr Trump even while praising Modi virtually bracketed he elected Prime Minister of India with the army chief of Pakistan describing both Mr Modi and Asim Munir as “fantastic persons.” Mr Modi and Mr Trump spoke over the phone for 35 minutes on Wednesday after the US president had to leave the G7 Summit in Canada early and their planned meeting could not happen. Briefing reporters, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the PM had told Mr Trump that Pakistan was compelled to request a ceasefire.
On Operation Sindoor, which was a response to the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, PM Modi informed Mr Trump that India’s response had been measured and non-escalatory and India had only targeted terrorist camps and hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Mr Misri had claimed.
“Prime Minister Modi clearly conveyed to President Trump that at no point during this entire sequence of events was there any discussion, at any level, on an India-US Trade Deal, or any proposal for a mediation by the US between India and Pakistan. The discussion to cease military action took place directly between India and Pakistan through the existing channels of communication between the two armed forces, and it was initiated at Pakistan’s request,” Mr Misri told the media. .
“Prime Minister Modi firmly stated that India does not and will never accept mediation. There is complete political consensus in India on this matter,” he added.
But unconvinced of what Mr Modi told him, Mr Trump while speaking to reporters hours before his meeting with Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir at the White House over lunch hosted for him by the US president, Mr Trump continued to claim that he had stopped the war and, at the same time, stated that PM Modi had been “very influential.”
“Well, I stopped the war between Pakistan – I love Pakistan – I think Modi is a fantastic man, I spoke to him last night. We are going to make a trade deal with Modi of India… And I stopped the war between Pakistan and India. This man (possibly referring to Asim Munir) was extremely influential in stopping it from the Pakistani side, Modi from the India side, and others. And they were going at it, they are both nuclear countries. I got it stopped,” Mr Trump claimed.
Complaining that the press had not taken note of this, he continued, “I don’t think I had one story written, did I have one story written? I stopped a war between two major nations, major nuclear nations. I did not have a story written about it, but that’s okay. You know why, the people know.”
Speaking to reporters in Washington, Trump was asked what he hoped to achieve diplomatically during Pakistani army chief General Asim Munir’s visit to the US. In response, he said, “Well, I stopped the war between Pakistan. I love Pakistan. I think Modi is a fantastic man, I spoke to him last night. We will have a trade deal with Modi of India.”
Reiterating his claim, Trump added, “I stopped the war between Pakistan and India.” He credited both leaders and others for helping avoid further escalation. “This man (Munir) was extremely influential in stopping the war from Pakistan’s side, and Modi from the India side, and others,” he said.
