‘Within 24 hours I had a peace deal’: Donald Trump repeats India-Pakistan truce claim; cites trade pressure

US President Donald Trump on Thursday once again claimed credit for mediating peace between India and Pakistan, saying, “Within 24 hours I had a peace deal,” referring to the heightened military tensions in May during Operation Sindoor, India’s retaliatory strike following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people in South Kashmir.Trump, who has repeatedly asserted he mediated peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, made the latest remarks during an interview with Fox News. Responding to a question about his efforts in bringing parties to the table for the Gaza peace deal, Trump said, “Having the ability to use tariffs have brought peace to the world… You know I made seven peace deals.”He said several countries had been engaged in prolonged conflicts, with millions killed over the years. “Not in all cases but probably at least five of the seven (peace deals) we’ve done so far were by trade, that we are not going to deal with people who fight and we’re going to put tariffs on you…”Referring to India and Pakistan, Trump said, “You look at India and Pakistan, I said well we are not going to do business with either of you if you don’t put it together. These are two nuclear nations. Seven planes were shot down as you know and they were really at it… I said we are not going to do any business with you, we are not going to have anything to do with you, we are going to out massive tariffs on you and in both cases they said, well we’re going to start talking about it. There is tremendous amounts of money and power that we are dealing with and within 24 hours I had a peace deal that they stopped the fighting …”Operation Sindoor was launched on May 7 following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives. The operation targeted terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). The Indian Armed Forces also repelled subsequent Pakistani aggression and hit its airbases.Following India’s strong response, Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) reached out to his Indian counterpart to seek a cessation of hostilities.Earlier, on October 3, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal A PSingh said that during Operation Sindoor, the IAF destroyed 12–13 of Pakistan’s combat aircraft, including “four to five F-16s on ground and five F-16s and JF-17s in the air along with two spy planes.”Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the 93rd Air Force Day in New Delhi, the Chief of Air Staff said five Pakistani fighter jets — “which could be F-16s or Pakistan’s ‘pride’, the backbone of its air force, Chinese JF-17s” — were shot down using the long-range surface-to-air missile (LRSAM) S-400 *Triumf* “Sudarshan Chakra” system.He added that another “four to five F-16s, which were undergoing maintenance in hangars, were destroyed after the IAF peppered them,” and that several Pakistani airbases were cratered, damaging “radars, command centres, runways, hangars, and a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.”Trump has frequently repeated his claim of mediating peace between India and Pakistan. On September 21, he reiterated the statement while speaking at the American Cornerstone Institute Founder’s Dinner, saying he should be honoured with the Nobel Prize for “ending seven wars.”“We are forging peace agreements, and we are stopping wars. So we stopped wars between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia,” Trump said. “Think of India and Pakistan. Think of that. And you know how I stopped that — with trade. They want to trade. And I have great respect for both leaders. But when you take a look at all of these wars that we’ve stopped,” he added.However, India has consistently refuted Trump’s claims, maintaining that issues concerning Jammu and Kashmir are strictly bilateral and that no third-party mediation is acceptable.