Washington: US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that in May last year, he had given a strict warning to India and Pakistan that if both the countries did not stop military confrontation, heavy tariffs of up to 200 percent would be imposed on them. Addressing the ‘Board of Peace’ program in America, Trump also said that 11 fighter planes were downed during that conflict, whereas earlier he had been giving different numbers. Sometimes he has been claiming the number of planes to be 7 and sometimes 8. He again stressed that his intervention ended the tension between the two nuclear armed countries. While addressing a program of the ‘Peace Board’ formed on Gaza in Washington, the US President reiterated the claim that he has ended eight wars in the first year of his second term in the White House.
What does India say on Trump’s claim?
India has consistently denied any third party interference. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the event along with leaders of other countries who have signed to join the Trump-led board. While addressing the program, Trump gave a list of conflicts which he claimed to have played a role in ending. On this occasion, he took the names of such countries and requested their leaders to stand up. Trump asked Sharif to stand up and then said, ‘I spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. He is excited. He is looking at us right now. Pointing towards Sharif he said, ‘Pakistan and India. This was a big issue. I think you should really stand up, please stand up for a moment. Pakistan and India. Thank you very much.’
Claim of saving lives of 2.5 crore people
In May last year, while claiming to end the military conflict between India and Pakistan, Trump said that he liked Sharif and the country’s Field Marshal and Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir. He called Munir a ‘great person’. Trump reiterated that Sharif had claimed that he had ‘saved 25 million lives’ by stopping the war between India and Pakistan. Earlier, Trump had claimed that Sharif had said that he had saved the lives of one crore people by ending the conflict between the two countries.
reiterated the threat of tariffs
Trump said, ‘I spoke to both of them on the phone, and I knew Sharif a little bit. Actually, I knew Prime Minister Modi very well. I had some trade relations with Pakistan. They were trying to make a very good deal, and I used to get a little angry with them. But in the end, they got what they wanted, right? He made a good deal, and I began to like the Prime Minister, the Field Marshal, who is a tough man, a strong and good fighter, a serious fighter. Actually, I like good fighters.
He said, ‘They (India and Pakistan) do a lot of trade with America, and suddenly their stance has softened. Then suddenly I read that first one country changed its stance, then the other, and suddenly we reached an agreement. But I said, ‘If you fight, I will impose 200 percent tariffs on both countries, which would mean that they would not be able to do any trade with America.’
’11 fighter planes fell’
Trump said, ‘I won’t tell the name, but one of them said, ‘No, can’t do that.’ They both wanted to fight. But when it comes to money, nothing is more important than money. When it came to losing a lot of money, he said, ‘I guess we don’t want to fight.’ And we made that agreement in two-three days. The US President said, ‘People had no idea. A lot of them say, ‘Oh, they weren’t fighting’. They were fighting, 11 fighter planes were shot down, very expensive jets, and they were all involved in the conflict. Both were involved in the conflict, and now they are no more.
“And I think we’ll always be able to work things out with them,” Trump said. I really think so. I think… there has been a lot of progress in relationships too. And Prime Minister Modi is also a great person. They are all great.’ However, Trump did not clarify which country’s fighter planes he was referring to. Trump has taken credit for stopping the India-Pakistan conflict more than 80 times since May 10 last year. He had announced on social media last year that after US-mediated talks, the two neighboring countries had agreed to a ‘complete and immediate’ ceasefire.
India had launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 last year and targeted terrorist structures in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
