'It was back and forth': Trump repeats ceasefire claim between India, Pakistan

Washington [US], July 23 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) again claimed credit for stopping a war between India and Pakistan, saying both countries were close to a nuclear conflict after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.

In his remarks, Trump said jets were being shot down repeatedly and he had to step in to de-escalate the situation. “We have stopped wars between India and Pakistan. They were probably going to end up in a nuclear war. They shot down five planes in the last attack. It was back and forth, back and forth. I called them and I said no more trade if you do this. They are both powerful nuclear nations. Who knows where that would have ended up, and I stopped it...” Trump said.

The statement comes a day after the White House credited Trump’s intervention with helping reach a ceasefire between India and Pakistan following India’s Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied-Kashmir (PoK) on May 7.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that President Trump’s foreign policy efforts have helped reduce global conflicts. “Look at what the president has done on the world stage. He has ended wars, like India and Pakistan. He continues to work aggressively to end the war in Russia and Ukraine. He completely obliterated Iran’s nuclear sites. He has continued to hopefully negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, to end that conflict and release all of the hostages," Leavitt said. 

Trump has made similar claims at least 25 times since May 10, stating that it was his pressure that led to peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. However, India has consistently denied any third-party involvement, maintaining that peace was brokered directly between the two countries. 

According to Indian officials, it was Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO)who contacted his Indian counterpart on May 10 to request an end to hostilities. The ceasefire was then agreed upon. 

The conflict erupted after India launched airstrikes under Operation Sindoor, targeting terrorist infrastructure in PoK in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 civilians. The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, claimed responsibility.

In a related move, the US Department of State designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on June 17. 

In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, “The organisation claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians.”

India welcomed the US decision. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called it a strong signal of India–US cooperation on counter-terrorism.

“The Resistance Front is a front organisation of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and we welcome this designation as a strong affirmation of India-US counter-terrorism cooperation,” Jaishankar said. (ANI)