- Trump reiterates averting nuclear war between Pakistan, India.
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US President Donald Trump described Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as a “highly respected general” while reiterating claims that he helped prevent a war between Pakistan and India.
“We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India,” reiterated Trump while responding to a question during an event in Florida alongside Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan on Monday.
He went on to say that “highly respected general […] he is a field marshal” and also the prime minister of Pakistan credited him with saving 10 million lives by stopping the war.
“You know, eight planes were shot down [during the Pakistan-India war]. That war was going to rage,” Trump said.
The US president claimed that he has stopped eight wars so far.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for easing tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, which have fought three wars since independence and remain locked in a dispute over Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In May, Pakistan and India engaged in a military showdown, the worst between the old foes in decades, which was sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in IIOJK’s Pahalgam area, which New Delhi said was backed by Pakistan.
Islamabad denied involvement in the Kashmir attack, which killed 26 men and was the worst assault on civilians in India since the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
After the incident, India killed several innocent civilians in unprovoked attacks on Pakistan for three days before the Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated in defence with the successful Operation Bunyanum Marsoos.
Pakistan downed seven IAF fighter jets, including three Rafale, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
US-Pakistan ties have warmed under Trump after Washington had for years viewed Pakistan’s rival India as a counter to China’s influence in Asia.
Following the brief conflict between Pakistan and India, the US president held a rare one-on-one meeting with Field Marshal Munir over lunch at the White House Cabinet Room in June, where he thanked the army chief to thank him for ending the war with India.
In September, Trump met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and COAS Munir at the Oval Office. Ahead of the Oval meeting, which lasted for more than an hour, the US president, while speaking to the media, called PM Shehbaz and Field Marshal Munir “great” people.
Later, Trump showered praises on the Pakistani army chief once again, calling him a “great fighter” while speaking at a luncheon during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, in October.
Trump commended PM Shehbaz and COAS Munir’s efforts in promoting regional stability.
“I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love for Prime Minister Modi. We have a great relationship,” he said.
“Likewise, the Prime Minister of Pakistan is a great guy. They have a Field Marshal. You know why he’s a Field Marshal? He’s a great fighter. And so I know them all.
“I’m reading that seven planes were shot down. These are two nuclear nations. And they’re really going at it,” he added.
The Pakistan-India conflict eventually ended via a US-brokered ceasefire for which Islamabad has credited President Trump, while also nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since then, Islamabad and Washington have been engaged with each other in high-level interactions between both civil and military leadership and have also finalised a much-hyped trade deal, reflecting improving relations between the two countries.
