Trump Commends Pakistani General for Averting Conflict
US President Donald Trump publicly praised Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir, for his role in de-escalating the recent military conflict with India. Speaking to the media after hosting Munir for a lunch at the White House on Wednesday, Trump positioned the engagement as a recognition of the general's efforts to prevent a wider war between the two nuclear-armed nations.
"The reason I had him here was I wanted to thank him for not going into the war and ending it," Trump stated, referring to the ceasefire announced last month. He added that it was an honour to meet Munir, noting that "two very smart people decided not to keep going with the war." This continues a narrative in which Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States mediated the talks that brought an end to the hostilities.
However, Trump's account of events has been contested by New Delhi. India has consistently denied any third-party involvement in the ceasefire, maintaining that the agreement was the result of direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries. The intense fighting, which included cross-border strikes, was sparked by the Pahalgam terror attack in April that killed 26 people, for which India blamed Pakistan-backed militants.
According to a White House spokeswoman, the meeting was organized after Trump was suggested for the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in preventing a potential nuclear war in South Asia. While Pakistan has acknowledged Washington's role, India's denial creates a conflicting diplomatic picture, even as the White House highlights the talks as a key foreign policy success.
