US President Donald Trump has once again underscored his instrumental role in de-escalating the recent armed conflict between Pakistan and India, while also commending Islamabad’s leadership, as reported by The News on Friday. Speaking at a White House event alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump recounted how tensions between Pakistan and India were “getting close to being out of hand,” and affirmed his intervention by directly communicating with leaders on both sides.
Noting that both nations were “well represented” in the discussions, he stated: “The leader of India, a big guy, was here a few weeks ago and we had great talks — and Pakistan, likewise.” President Trump further added: “They have very strong leadership. Some people may not like me saying that, but it is what it is.”
The military confrontation between Pakistan and India—which included cross-border strikes by both countries—occurred weeks after 26 tourists were killed in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam, and India falsely blamed Pakistan for the attack. Following this incident, India carried out unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days, resulting in the deaths of several innocent civilians, before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in self-defense with the successful Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos.
Pakistan successfully downed six IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations concluded on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States. Since this US-brokered ceasefire, both Islamabad and New Delhi have initiated global diplomatic outreach efforts to present their respective stances on the recent clashes between the arch-rivals.
Recalling his mediation and interactions with Pakistani and Indian leadership during the skirmishes, the US president remarked: “I spoke to talented people on both sides. Very good people on both sides [….] I told them we’re not going to deal with you if you go shooting each other and whipping out nuclear weapons.”
“And they stopped the war. Now will they give me credit? They won’t give me credit for anything. But nobody else could have stopped it. I was proud of that,” he stated. Trump also claimed to have leveraged trade negotiations to pressure both countries into stepping back from the brink. “If you’re not going to do that, we’re not doing trade deals,” he said, adding, “I got that war stopped.”
His remarks come a day after the Kremlin confirmed that the Pakistan-India conflict was also discussed during a telephonic conversation between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. “The Middle East was discussed, as well as the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which has been halted with the personal involvement of President Trump,” Russian president’s aide Yuri Ushakov stated on Thursday.
Representing Pakistan, former foreign minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is leading a nine-member high-level parliamentary delegation across several countries. The delegation’s objective is to present Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military confrontation with India to the international community and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative on a global scale. The parliamentary delegation includes Hina Rabbani Khar, Sherry Rehman, Dr. Musadik Malik, Khurram Dastgir Khan, Jalil Abbas Jilani, Tehmina Janjua, Bushra Anjum Butt, and Syed Faisal Subzwari.
Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg a day earlier, Bilawal stated that New Delhi’s actions had introduced a new danger in future clashes, adding: “Now we then have about 30 seconds time to decide, off a grainy little image, this nuclear-capable missile — is it armed with a nuclear weapon? And how do we respond?” He emphasized that India had lowered the threshold for future military action between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
A comprehensive dialogue between the two sides could prevent future conflicts, which could escalate suddenly and be difficult for leaders to intervene in, the former foreign minister noted. “Our concern for next time, heaven forbid, for next time round is that the threshold is low for a military conflict,” he added. In a future conflict, Bilawal further cautioned that both countries are likely to climb the “escalation ladder” too quickly for President Trump or other leaders to effectively intervene.
