U.S. President Donald Trump hailed India and Pakistan for agreeing to his administration-mediated ceasefire agreement after deadly clashes and vowed to work with the South Asian countries to see if a a resolution to the longstanding Kashmir dispute could be found.
After scoring his administration’s major foreign policy intervention success in the form of an India-Pakistan ceasefire agreement, something that remains elusive in Ukraine and Gaza wars, Trump also said he would “substantially” expand America’s trade with the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
India and Pakistan were holding fire on Sunday after weeks of a tense standoff over April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam area of disputed Kashmir region, as their tensions pushed the region to the edge of a full-scale conflict.
The United Nations, and countries that made diplomatic efforts to help India and Pakistan step back from the edge of an all-out war, have welcomed the ceasefire agreement.
The U.S. president announced the ceasefire breakthrough Saturday morning (EST) in a statement which he followed up with another midnight post on his Truth Social platform.
“While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations,” he wrote.
“Additionally, I will work with you both to see if, after a “thousand years,” a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” he said.
New Delhi had quickly alleged that the the group of gunmen who killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam were allied with a Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba. Islamabad said India provided no evidence to back its claim and offered help in a neutral and transparent probe into Pahalgam massacres.
After announcing a series of measures including suspension of a key water-sharing treaty, to downgrade ties, New Delhi launched aerial strikes against what it called as terror infrastructure sites in Pakistani cities and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Islamabad said Indian strikes killed civilians, and shot down several Indian fighter jets including French Rafael in a dogfight, described as perhaps the biggest such confrontation since World War II.
The clashes continued on Sunday with Pakistan striking Indian air bases in response to similar Indian attacks until President Trump announced the ceasefire.
In his post, Trump praised the courage shown by leaders of both countries in agreeing to stop hostilities.
“I am very proud of the strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of India and Pakistan for having the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have lead to to the death and destruction of so many, and so much.”
Trump noted that in the absence of South Asian leaders’ “historic and heroic” ceasefire decision, made possible after Vice President J D Vance’s call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Gen Asim Munior, “millions of good and innocent people could have died!””
“Your legacy is greatly enhanced by your brave actions,” he remarked addressing the two leaders.
“I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision.”
Trump had offered a mediatory offer on the Jammu and Kashmir conflict in 2019 during a meeting with the then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in his first presidential term that took place in the wake of Prime Minister Modi’s controversially end the constitutionally-ordained autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir.
India and Pakistan both control parts of Kashmir claim the Himalayan region in its entirety.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General António Guterres, said after the ceasefire agreement that the organization stands ready to support efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability in the region.
Welcoming the ceasefire agreement, Guterres called it a “positive step toward ending current hostilities and easing tensions,” and said that he hopes the agreement will “contribute to lasting peace and foster an environment conducive to addressing broader, longstanding issues between the two countries.”
