'Two very smart people...': Trump backs off from claim of brokering India-Pakistan peace

Breaking from weeks of self-congratulation, US President Donald Trump stepped back from claiming credit for preventing a full-scale war between India and Pakistan. Instead, he pointed to the decision-making of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Army Chief General Asim Munir, calling them “two very smart people” who chose to pull back from the brink of a potential nuclear conflict.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday after hosting General Asim Munir for lunch, the first such meeting between a US president and a Pakistani army chief in decades, Trump said, “The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war (with India) and ending the war. I am so happy. Two smart people, two very smart people, decided not to keep going with the war. Those are two big nuclear powers.”

Trump’s remarks marked a notable shift from his earlier assertions of "brokering peace between the two nations". Since the May 10 ceasefire between India and Pakistan, triggered after India’s Operation Sindoor strike, Trump had repeatedly claimed he “helped settle” the conflict.

However, both New Delhi and Islamabad have maintained that the ceasefire was a direct result of communication between their Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs), with no third-party involvement.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, in a message from the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Canada, confirmed that Modi had clearly conveyed to Trump during a 35-minute phone call that India neither accepted nor sought American mediation. “At no point during Operation Sindoor was there any discussion, at any level, about an India-US trade agreement or any proposal for American mediation between India and Pakistan,” Misri said.

Modi also reaffirmed India’s consistent stand that all issues with Pakistan must be resolved bilaterally, and there is full political consensus on rejecting third-party intervention.

Meanwhile, Trump had earlier planned to meet Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit but returned to Washington early.

On the other hand, the Trump-Munir meeting, held without any senior Pakistani civilian officials present, has stirred unease in Indian strategic circles. It signals growing US-Pakistan ties even as Washington continues to overlook New Delhi’s concerns over Islamabad’s alleged role in sponsoring cross-border terrorism.

(With agency inputs)