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US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed he pressured India and Pakistan into accepting a ceasefire over the weekend by threatening to cut off trade with both countries.
“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’ll do a trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,’” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“And all of a sudden they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop,’” he continued, crediting trade leverage for influencing both nations’ decisions. “For a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one,” he added.
Trump claimed his intervention helped avert what he believes could have escalated into a nuclear conflict between the two countries.
“We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed,” he said.
He also confirmed that the US will “do a lot of trade” with both countries, adding that negotiations with India are ongoing while talks with Pakistan will begin shortly.
Trump also said he was proud of the way both countries handled the crisis, “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 on Saturday in a post on Truth Social announced that India and Pakistan have agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire”, claiming the decision was reached after a “long night” of talks mediated by the United States.
“After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE. Congratulations to both countries for using Common Sense and Great Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted.
Soon after, the government announced in a press briefing that India and Pakistan have agreed to stop firing and military action from 5 pm today. India has affirmed the talks were worked out “directly between the two countries”.
“DGMO (Director General of Military Operations) of Pakistan called up DGMO (of India) at 3.35 pm. They agreed that both sides will stop all firing and military action from land, air and sea from 5 pm onwards,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, adding that the DGMOs will talk again at noon on May 12.
The announcement came after days of heightened tensions between the countries, triggered by a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam last month that left 26 people dead. In response, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, striking nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which the government said killed over 100 terrorists.
Among the targets were the Muridke headquarters of Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Bahawalpur base of Jaish-e-Mohammed — both long under Indian surveillance for their involvement in attacks on Indian soil over the years. The situation quickly escalated, with both nations exchanging strikes on each other’s military installations in the days that followed.
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