During the inaugural session of the Board of Peace in Washington, US President Donald Trump reiterated his claim that he played a decisive role in preventing a potential military escalation between India and Pakistan in May last year. According to Trump, a combination of tariff threats and direct communication with the leadership of both countries helped bring hostilities to an end.
Trump stated that he warned both nations that the United States would impose extremely high trade tariffs if the conflict continued. He said he told India and Pakistan that a 200 percent tariff would be applied to each country if fighting persisted. Emphasising the economic dimension of his approach, Trump argued that financial consequences proved more persuasive than military considerations, claiming that both sides reconsidered their positions once the potential economic losses became clear.
The US President made these remarks while addressing participants at the Board of Peace meeting, again asserting that his intervention helped calm tensions after India launched Operation Sindoor targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. The operation followed the Pahalgam attack in April last year, in which 26 civilians lost their lives, significantly escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
In his latest comments, Trump described the confrontation as having reached a highly dangerous stage, alleging that aerial engagements were taking place and that several aircraft had been destroyed during the clashes. He claimed that as many as eleven fighter jets were shot down, referring to them as extremely costly military assets and presenting the situation as one that risked spiralling into a larger war.
Trump further said that he personally contacted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, noting that he was familiar with both leaders. According to his account, he warned them that ongoing trade negotiations with the United States would be halted unless the dispute was resolved quickly. He claimed that shortly after these conversations, an agreement was reached that helped ease tensions and halt further escalation.
The President also asserted that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly acknowledged his role in preventing a major conflict. Trump said Sharif credited him with saving millions of lives by intervening at a critical moment when military tensions were intensifying between the two countries. He repeated that the situation at the time was rapidly deteriorating and required urgent diplomatic action.
Trump has made similar statements on several occasions, consistently portraying economic pressure and his personal diplomatic engagement as key factors that contributed to de-escalating the standoff between India and Pakistan.
However, India has firmly rejected these assertions. The Ministry of External Affairs has repeatedly denied any involvement of third-party mediation in ending the hostilities, maintaining that the decision to halt military actions was reached through direct communication between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMO) of both countries. Indian officials have emphasised that the resolution of the situation was handled bilaterally, without external intervention.
