NEW DELHI— On Tuesday, the Indian government rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the US-mediated ceasefire between India and Pakistan was facilitated in part by his offer of possible trade incentives.
Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesman for India’s foreign ministry, said a weekly press conference that top leaders in New Delhi and Washington spoke last week following the Indian military’s intense standoff with Pakistan, but there was no discussion about trade.
“The issue of trade didn’t come up in any of these discussions,” Jaiswal added, referring to contacts between US Vice President JD Vance and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar.
Following Saturday’s agreement between India and Pakistan to cease military activity on land, in the air, and at sea, Trump told reporters on Monday that he had offered to assist both countries with trade if they agreed to de-escalate.
“I said, come on, we’re going to do a lot of business with you. Let’s put a stop to it. Let’s put a stop to it. If you stop it, we will make a trade. “If you don’t stop it, we won’t do any trade,” Trump stated.
“And all of a sudden, they said, I think we’re going to stop,” Trump added, crediting trade leverage with swaying both countries’ decisions. “For a lot of reasons, but trade is a big one,” he told me.
India and Pakistan’s militaries have been involved in one of their most severe conflicts in decades since last Wednesday, when India targeted targets inside Pakistan it claimed were linked with militants responsible for the death of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir last month. Pakistan has denied having any links to the perpetrators.
Following India’s strikes in Pakistan, the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their de facto borders before launching missile and drone strikes into each other’s territories, primarily targeting military installations and airbases.
The increasing animosity between the nuclear-armed foes threatened regional peace, prompting world leaders to cool their tempers.
Trump stated that he not only assisted in mediating the truce, but also offered to arbitrate the simmering problem in Kashmir, a Himalayan area claimed by both India and Pakistan but administered in part. The two countries have fought two wars over Kashmir, which has long been regarded as a regional nuclear flashpoint.
On Tuesday, New Delhi also rebuffed President Trump’s offer of mediation.
“We have long held the national view that any concerns concerning the federally controlled union territory of Jammu and Kashmir must be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan. There has been no change to the declared policy,” Jaiswal explained.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced late Tuesday that it was removing a staff member from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, accusing him of unspecified unacceptable behavior and giving him 24 hours to leave the country.
Last month, India and Pakistan reciprocated by reducing their diplomatic presence in Islamabad and New Delhi. So yet, no expelled ambassadors have returned. Pakistan and India routinely dismiss their diplomats over espionage claims.
