Trump disagrees with India over India-Pakistan war mediation

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hosted Pakistan army chief for lunch in an unprecedented White House meeting that risked worsening a disagreement with India over the Republican president’s claim that he stopped the recent war between the nuclear-armed South Asian foes.

It was the first time that a US president has hosted the powerful head of Pakistan’s army, widely regarded as having sway over the country’s national security policies, at the White House unaccompanied by senior Pakistani civilian officials.

Read more: Field Marshal Asim Munir arrives at White House for meeting with Trump

Trump’s lunch with Field Marshal Asim Munir represented a major boost in US-Pakistan ties, which had largely languished under Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden, as both assiduously courted India as part of efforts to push back against China.

Munir was expected to press Trump not to enter Israel’s war with Iran and seek a ceasefire, Pakistani officials and experts said. A section of Pakistan’s embassy in Washington represents Iran’s interests in the United States, as Tehran does not have diplomatic relations with the US.

Pakistan has condemned Israel’s airstrikes against Iran, saying they violate international law and threaten regional stability.

Asked what he wanted to achieve from the meeting, Trump told reporters at the White House: “Well, I stopped a war … I love Pakistan. I think (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night. We’re going to make a trade deal with Modi of India.

“But I stopped the war between Pakistan and India. This man was extremely influential in stopping it from the Pakistan side, Modi from the India side and others,” he did, referring to Munir. “They were going at it – and they’re both nuclear countries. I got it stopped.”

Trump had said last month that the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire after talks mediated by the US, and that the hostilities ended after he urged the countries to focus on trade instead of war.

However, Modi told Trump in a phone call late on Tuesday that the ceasefire was achieved through talks between the Indian and Pakistani militaries and not US mediation, according to India’s most senior diplomat, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

Pakistan has thanked Washington for playing a mediating role, however, India has repeatedly denied any third-party mediation. Tuesday’s phone call between Modi and Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada, which Modi attended as a guest, was the two leaders’ first direct exchange since the May 7-10 conflict.

“PM Modi told President Trump clearly that during this period, there was no talk at any stage on subjects like India-US trade deal or US mediation between India and Pakistan,” Misri said in a press statement.

“Talks for ceasing military action happened directly between India and Pakistan through existing military channels, and on the insistence of Pakistan. Prime Minister Modi emphasised that India has not accepted mediation in the past and will never do,” he said.

Misri said the two leaders had been due to meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit but Trump left a day early due to the situation in the Middle East.

Trump asked Modi if he could stop by the US on his return from Canada, Misri said, but the Indian leader expressed his inability to do so due to a pre-decided schedule.

The heaviest fighting in decades between India and Pakistan was sparked by an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on “terrorists” backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Pakistan has previously said that the ceasefire happened after its military returned a call the Indian military had initiated on May 7.

On May 7, Indian jets bombed what New Delhi called “terrorist infrastructure” sites across the border, triggering tit-for-tat strikes spread over four days in which both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery.

Read more: Trump says he has not made a final decision yet on Iran

Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation think tank, said ties between India and the US, which have thrived in recent years, could suffer if Trump continued to make remarks about a US role in the ceasefire and offered US mediation on Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan territory that India and Pakistan both claim.

“For Delhi, it all boils down to an age-old question: How much can it tolerate US-Pakistan cooperation without having it spoil US-India relations — a partnership that’s thrived in recent years despite continued US.-Pakistan links,” Kugelman said.