If I weren’t around, India would be fighting Pakistan, claims Trump
London, Jul 28 (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed, yet again, that if he had not intervened in time with a threat of stopping all trade negotiations, India and Pakistan would have been at war.
Addressing the media in Scotland, along with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ahead of their official talks, Trump took credit for stepping in to prevent “six major wars” around the world, including between India and Pakistan.
He was responding to a question about pushing Israel towards ending the conflict in Gaza just hours after ceasefire talks with Hamas collapsed.
“We have many ceasefires going on… If I weren’t around, you would have six major wars going on – India would be fighting with Pakistan,” Trump said while addressing the media from his Turnberry golf resort in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
“We have many hotspots that were at war. I think a very big one was India and Pakistan because you are talking about two nuclear nations. That was a very big one,” said Trump, who is on a private visit to Scotland since Friday.
Trump said, “I know the leaders of Pakistan and India. I know (them) very well. And they're in the midst of a trade deal, and yet they're talking about nuclear weapons… this is crazy. So, I said I'm not doing a trade deal with you guys. And they want the trade deal, they need it.
"[I said] I'm not doing a trade deal with you if you're going to have war, and that's a war that spreads to other countries, you'll get nuclear dust. We'll all get nuclear dust.
“When they start using nuclear weapons, that stuff blows all over the place and really bad things happen. So maybe we're being a little selfish when we want to save wars too. But we stopped a lot of wars and it's a great honour to have done it.”
India has repeatedly refuted claims of any mediation during Operation Sindoor, its military action in response to a Pakistan-backed deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
The precision strikes lasted between May 7 and 10, with New Delhi maintaining that they came to an end following direct talks between the militaries of both countries without any US mediation.
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Experience comes when you play bigger teams in bilateral series: Rashid Khan
Chennai (PTI): Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan called for more bilateral series against stronger cricketing nations after his team signed off from the T20 World Cup on a high, defeating Canada in their final group match here on Thursday.
Afghanistan played some exhilarating cricket, going down to South Africa in a gripping second Super Over after the scores were tied, a humdinger that provided one of the early thrills of the World Cup.
However, the spin-bowling stalwart said Afghanistan could make significant strides if they get regular opportunities to compete against stronger cricketing nations.
"Couple of areas to improve, with the batting, the middle order got a bit stuck against the big teams, and then with the bowling the death overs. That comes when you play the bigger teams in bilateral series," said Rashid after his team defeat Canada by 82 runs, with him returning excellent figures of 2 for 19.
The stalwart said the side had arrived well prepared for the tournament and produced some breathtaking cricket, but admitted the narrow defeat to South Africa proved costly and remained a painful setback.
"We were well-prepared (for the tournament), we played some unbelievable cricket. The game against South Africa, that really hurt everyone. We had to win one of those (first two) games and see how the tournament unfolded. We'll take some positive things from this World Cup and look forward," he said.
With head coach Jonathan Trott set to part ways with the team, Rashid described the departure as an "emotional" moment for the side.
"I think we had some wonderful times with him. Where we are now, he played a main role. It's emotional to see him leave us, but that's how life is. We wish him all the best and somewhere down the line we see him again."
Ibrahim Zadran, who was named Player of the Match for his unbeaten 95 off 56 balls, said it was satisfying to finally register a substantial score after two below-par outings.
"I enjoyed it, didn't play better cricket in first two innings, which I expect. Wanted to back my skills, really enjoyed it. Pressure was there, it's there all the time. I want to put myself in pressure situations and enjoy it," said Zadran.
"Wanted to play positive cricket, rotate strike and punish bad ball, create partnerships and this is what I have done."
