US Commerce Secretary Howard Luttnick filed a statement in the New York-based US Court of International Trade swearing that US President Donald Trump used his tariff power to broker a ‘tenuous ceasefire’ between India and Pakistan and bring about a ‘fragile peace’.
It means the Trump administration, for the first time, put on record in a court submission, claiming the US President used tariff as a tool to avert full-scale war between the two nuclear-armed nations. The US President has been repeatedly claiming that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan.
President Trump himself made this assertion eight times in 11 days in three different countries. The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has echoed the same and also mentioned a ‘neutral site’ for talks between India and Pakistan”.
Operation Sindoor
India carried out precision strikes under Operation Sindoor on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10. The Indian forces launched a fierce counter-attack on several Pakistani military installations.
India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the military confrontation after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes. On May 10, US President Donald Trump had claimed that India and Pakistan agreed to a full and immediate ceasefire after a long night of talks “mediated” by Washington.
India rejects Trump ceasefire mediation claims
However, later, Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs, clarified that India-Pakistan reached an understanding on cessation of hostilities following direct negotiations between the two sides. Jaiswal said the arrangement was firmed up during a conversation over the hotline by Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) on May 10.
He said the Indian military’s “extremely effective attack” on key Pakistani air force bases on early May 10 forced Islamabad to stop military action. “Let me be clear. It was of force of Indian arms that compelled Pakistan to stop its firing,” he said, rebutting Trump’s claim.
Asked about Trump’s claim that his administration stopped a “nuclear conflict” between India and Pakistan, Jaiswal said India’s military action was entirely in the conventional domain. “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,” he said.