By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said Monday that his administration used trade leverage to broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, halting what he claimed could have escalated into a nuclear war.
“On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think a permanent one, between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons. They were going at it hard and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop,” Trump said at a White House event.
“I said, ‘Come on, we are going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we will do trade, if you don’t stop, we are not going to do any trade. People have never really used trade the way I used it.”
He recounted the response. “And all of a sudden they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop… For a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one.”
The truce, announced by Trump on Saturday, ended four days of fierce clashes, the most intense since the 1999 Kargil war. The two sides had deployed fighter jets, drones, missiles, and artillery, targeting each other’s military installations and leaving approximately 70 people dead across both sides of the border, according to official reports.
Relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated after Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir last month that killed 26.
Islamabad denied involvement and offered an independent probe, with tensions reaching a boiling point after India fired missiles at what it said were “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan last Wednesday, killing several in Operation Sindoor. Pakistan said India had killed only civilians including children, vowing retribution.
The conflict had rapidly intensified and on the same day, Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian aircraft. Tensions spiked further on Friday when Pakistan’s military had reported shooting down 77 Indian drones over multiple locations, including Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. Early Saturday, reports emerged of Indian missile strikes on several airbases in Pakistan
Pakistan launched a major counter-attack against India early Saturday, targeting the rival’s key military installations in operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos. By Saturday afternoon, back-channel talks led by the Trump administration secured a ceasefire.
Trump said the ceasefire has prevented a catastrophic escalation. “We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed,” he said. “I’m very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering and powerful, but unwavering in both cases — they really were from the standpoint of having the strength and the wisdom and fortitude to fully know and to understand the gravity of the situation.”
Trump confirmed plans to deepen economic ties with both countries. “The U.S. will do a lot of trade with both,” he said, noting that negotiations with India are already underway and talks with Pakistan are set to begin shortly.
A day earlier, President Trump offered to mediate the decades-old Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, coupling his proposal with a promise to “substantially” increase trade with both nuclear-armed nations.
Military Talks Follow Ceasefire
On Monday, the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) from India and Pakistan held their first round of talks via hotline to solidify the ceasefire.
Pakistan’s Major General Kashif Abdullah and India’s Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai focused on measures to ensure the cessation of hostilities.
“Issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other were discussed,” the Indian army said in a statement. “It was also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas.”
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar described the talks as a positive development, noting that a follow-up round is scheduled within the next 48 hours. He called a temporary ceasefire until then “quite standard.”
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