India's Modi denies Trump brokered peace with Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has denied that any foreign leader mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan during their recent conflict, rejecting repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that Washington had brokered peace.

"No world leader asked us to stop the operation," Modi told parliament during a debate on "Operation Sindoor", the military campaign launched against Pakistan in May.

Modi did not mention Trump by name.

Since May 7, Trump and his administration have claimed nearly 30 times that the United States stepped in to prevent a full-scale war between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Islamabad has acknowledged Washington’s role, but New Delhi continues to deny it.

Brief conflict

The conflict was triggered by an April terror attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir, where gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Hindus.

India blamed Pakistan for backing the attackers, a charge which Islamabad rejected.

More than 70 people were killed on both sides during four days of intense fighting in May, before Trump announced a ceasefire.

"If I weren’t around, you’d have, right now, six major wars going on. India would be fighting with Pakistan," Trump said on Monday during a visit to Scotland.

Modi, however, claimed it was Pakistan that pleaded for a halt.

"They felt the heat of our attacks," he said.

His statement came after Rahul Gandhi from the opposition Congress party challenged him to say, "inside the parliament that Donald Trump is lying."

Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region, has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1947.

Both countries claim it in full and have fought two wars and multiple conflicts over the territory.

The May fighting brought the rivals close to another war, but Trump publicly claimed credit for halting it — a version acknowledged by Islamabad but firmly rejected by New Delhi.

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Source: TRT