New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he had threatened India and Pakistan with a 200 per cent tariff if they did not stop the conflict. He reiterated the claim that he had prevented a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Addressing a 'Board of Peace' event in Washington, Trump reiterated the claim that he had prevented eight wars within the first year of his second term in the White House. India has consistently denied any third party intervention. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif attended the event along with leaders of other countries joining the Trump-led body.
Addressing the event, Trump listed the conflicts he had helped end and named the countries and asked their leaders to stand up. Trump asked Sharif to stand and then said, "I spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi. He's excited. He's watching us right now." Trump said, "Pakistan and India. It was a big deal. I think you should really stand up, please stand up for just a second. Pakistan and India. Thank you very much."
Among other things during the long address, Trump said, "A lot of them say, 'Oh, they weren't fighting.' They were fighting, 11 jets were shot down, very expensive jets, and they were all involved in it. They were both fully involved, and now they're not. And I think we'll always be able to come to an agreement with them. I really believe that. I think... there's been a lot of progress in the relationship as well.
And Prime Minister Modi is also a great person. He's a great human being. They're all great, but I was very proud of that." However, he did not clarify which country's aircraft he was referring to. Trump has taken credit for preventing India-Pakistan conflict more than 80 times since May 10 last year.