Trump claims his administration stopped 'nuclear conflict' between India and Pakistan
New York/Washington, May 12 (PTI): President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated his claim that his administration stopped a "nuclear conflict" between India and Pakistan, telling the South Asian neighbours that America will do a "lot of trade" with them if they end hostilities.
"On Saturday, my administration helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think, a permanent one between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons,” Trump said at the start of a press conference in the White House where he announced that he will set 30-day deadline for drugmakers to lower cost of prescription drugs.
He started the briefing by describing “the historic events that took place over the last few days" in the Indian subcontinent.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on Saturday to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.
Indian government sources in New Delhi have been maintaining that the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea, with immediate effect. They said no third party was involved.
Trump said that India and Pakistan “were going at it hot and heavy, and it was seemingly not going to stop.”
"I'm very proud to let you know that the leadership of India and Pakistan was unwavering, powerful, but unwavering in both cases, having these 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 said.
The US President said he told India and Pakistan that America will do "a lot of trade" with them if they stop the conflict.
"And we helped a lot, and we helped also with trade. 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’.”
Trump added that "People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you. And all of a sudden they (India and Pakistan) said, ‘I think we're going to stop.’”
“And they have, and they did it for a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one. 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 negotiating with Pakistan, and we stopped a nuclear conflict,” Trump said.
“I think it … could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed. So I'm very proud of that. I also want to thank Vice President (J D) Vance and Secretary of State (Marco) Rubio for their work and efforts, they worked very hard on that,” Trump said.
Trump went on to say that “we did some great things with trade with India and Pakistan. Really helped the situation. Very heated situation. Could have lost millions of people, more than millions, I mean, many millions of people. And they want to do business with America, but we never used our powers that way. Never knew how. We never had people that knew how to do that.”
On Saturday, Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire" after a “long night of talks mediated by the United States."
Later, in a post on Truth Social, Trump offered to work with India and Pakistan for a “solution" on Kashmir, while crediting Washington for helping the two nations arrive at the “historic and heroic decision” of stopping the conflict.
Trump went on to say that even though this has not been discussed, he is going to “increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations.”
India has always maintained that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter and there is no space for any third party. India asserts that the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and always will be integral and inalienable parts of it.
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Speaker UT Khader attends local cricket tournament during Bhatkal visit
Bhatkal: Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly U. T. Khader visited Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada district on Saturday and attended a local cricket match being played as part of a tournament organised by the Cosmos Sports Centre of Bhatkal.
After attending a programme at Anjuman Hami-E-Muslimeen, Khader proceeded to the Bhatkal Taluka Stadium, where the tournament is underway. He was accompanied by office-bearers of the Cosmos Sports Centre and several local community leaders.
Those present during the visit included President of Majlis-e-Islah Wa Tanzeem and former JD(S) leader Inayathullah Shabandri, Vice President of Tanzeem Atiqur Rahman Muniri, General Secretary Abdul Raqeeb MJ, President of Cosmos Sports Centre Ismail Anjum, Managing Director of Mohtisham Complexes S. M. Arshad, former president of the Bhatkal Muslim Youth Federation Imtiyaz Udyawar, among others.
Addressing players and organisers, Khader extended his best wishes to the participating teams and urged the players to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship. He said such tournaments help promote unity and brotherhood among the youth.
The cricket tournament began on November 21 and will conclude with the final match on December 21. It is being organised as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Cosmos Sports Centre.
Cosmos Sports Centre is one of the member clubs of the Bhatkal Muslim Youth Federation and is known for its active role in promoting sports in the town. Apart from sporting activities, the centre is also involved in various social and community initiatives, including efforts to promote education among students.
