 "Nuclear conflict to trade: What Donald Trump said on India-Pak ceasefire, why New Delhi dismissed it")
US President Donald Trump has spoken a lot about the India-Pakistan ceasefire.
Not only did Trump try to take credit for the ceasefire, he also claimed that the two countries were poised to go nuclear.
Trump also said he threatened to suspend trade ties with India and Pakistan if they did not agree to de-escelate.
But what has Trump said? And why has New Delhi dismissed it?
Let’s take a closer look:
On the ceasefire
Trump on Saturday broke the news of a “full and immediate” ceasefire between the two countries.
“India and Pakistan have agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Trump claimed the deal occurred “after a long night of talks mediated by the United States.”
Other US officials also tried to take credit for the agreement.
Catch India-Pakistan ceasefire live updates here
However, India has rejected this claim.
New Delhi has stated that it was a bilateral deal with Islamabad and that no third party was involved.
“The specific date, time, and wording of the understanding was worked out between the DGMOs of the two countries at their phone call on May 10, commencing at 3.35 pm. The Foreign Secretary had made a statement in this regard,” the MEA said.
“The request for this call was received by MEA from the Pakistani High Commission at 12.37 pm. The Pakistani side had initial difficulties connecting the hotline due to technical difficulties. The timing was then decided based on the availability of the Indian DGMO at 3.25 pm.”
Foreign Ministry Vikram Misri on Saturday confirmed the Pakistan DGMO had dialled his Indian counterpart and that direct talks were held.
On trade
As per India Today, Trump had also claimed he threatened to cut off trade with both countries if they did not de-escalate.
“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’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade. People have never really used trade the way I used it. By that, I can tell you, and all of a sudden they said. I think we’re gonna stop, and they have,” Trump said. “We’re going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan. We’re going to do a lot of trade with India. We’re negotiating with India right now. We’re going to be soon negotiated with Pakistan,” he said.
The MEA has denied that trade ever came up during talks with the US.
“From the time Operation Sindoor commenced on May 7 till the understanding on cessation of firing and military action on May 10, there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation. The issue of trade did not come up in any of the discussions,” the MEA said in a statement.
“India rebuts the United States’ claim. After Operation Sindoor commenced, US Vice President JD Vance spoke to PM Modi on 9th May. US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio spoke to EAM Dr S Jaishankar on 8th May and 10th May and to NSA Doval on 10th May. There was no reference to trade in any of these discussions,” ANI, citing sources, said.
India and the US are currently trying to work out a trade deal.
On the conflict going nuclear
Trump on Tuesday claimed the conflict between India and Pakistan was poised to go nuclear.
“We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war, millions of people could have been killed. So I’m very proud of that,” Trump was quoted as saying.
However, India once again rejected this claim.
“The military action was entirely in the conventional domain. There were some reports that Pakistan’s National Command Authority will meet on 10 May. But this was later denied by them. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister has himself denied the nuclear angle on record,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying by India Today.
“As you know, India has a firm stance that it will not give in to nuclear blackmail or allow cross-border terrorism to be conducted invoking it. In conversations with various countries, we also cautioned that their subscribing to such scenarios could hurt them in their own region.”
This came after much speculation that India had struck Kirana Hills – which many believe to contain part of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
However, Director General of Air Operations, Air Marshal AK Bharti, dismissed such claims.
“We have not hit Kirana Hills,” Bharti said.
What do experts say?
They say Trump’s remarks ought to be taken with a pinch of salt.
“While we don’t see an impact on the trade deal between India and US as far as Trump’s statement is concerned, Pakistan may see some incentives due to back-channel talks. We have already seen the next tranche of IMF loans being granted to them,” Professor Harsh V Pant, Vice President, Studies and Foreign Policy, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), told Moneycontrol.
“The India-US trade deal is largely on track. I think there is a lot of misreading of the statement — there is no hyphenation. The US already has an engagement with India, which is of a different order and magnitude and I think that will continue, based on the larger strategic reality shaped by China’s rise,” Pant added.
“Trump’s statement tells us that the trade deal between India and US may be happening soon, while it also reaffirms that America views Pakistan s a key strategic partner in the region,” Ajay Srivastava, Founder, Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), added.
But Srivastava disagreed, “Washington still views India and Pakistan through the outdated `hyphenated’ lens. This was made clear when Trump, in a Truth Social post on May 10, praised the `strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of India and Pakistan’ without once mentioning terrorism. Despite Pakistan’s repeated attacks, the US chose to reward it with both diplomacy and dollars. This is opportunistic mediation.”
“Emotional diplomacy is over. India, like China, must play chess, not cricket,” Srivastava concluded.
With inputs from agencies
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