Over the past 65 days, former US President Donald Trump has publicly claimed 22 times that his intervention prevented a catastrophic escalation of the recent India-Pakistan conflict, specifically averting what he repeatedly describes as a possible "nuclear war" through the use of trade negotiations as leverage.

Trump most recently reiterated this during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, asserting, "India and Pakistan would have been in a nuclear war within another week, the way that was going... We did that through trade. I said, we are not going to talk to you about trade unless you get this thing settled, and they did".

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh has consistently criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not openly refuting Trump’s claims and highlighted the number and frequency of Trump's statements.

Ramesh has called out Modi’s silence on the matter and has questioned why Trump’s narrative has gone unchallenged at the highest levels, especially given the international implications. He previously asked when Modi would break his silence, noting the contradiction between Trump’s public statements and the official Indian position.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has firmly rejected Trump's assertions of third-party mediation and the claim that trade negotiations influenced India’s actions. The MEA reiterated India’s long-standing policy that all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including those relating to Jammu and Kashmir, are to be resolved bilaterally, without any external mediation.

The ministry additionally clarified that the "issue of trade" did not arise in talks between Indian and US leaders regarding the cessation of hostilities since the start of India's 'Operation Sindoor,' which was launched in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack.

Following India’s counter strikes on terror infrastructure within Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoK) after the Pahalgam attack, both sides agreed to a ceasefire that was formalized following a call from Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) to his Indian counterpart.

The Indian opposition, particularly Congress, continues to urge the government to publicly and unequivocally refute Trump's claims to safeguard India's diplomatic and strategic posture, arguing that the absence of a firm rebuttal risks undermining India’s position in international affairs.

Trump’s repeated claims—now made 22 times over 65 days—of having averted nuclear war between India and Pakistan through trade leverage have been subject to strong criticism by the Indian opposition and categorical denial by the Indian government. The official Indian stance remains clear: all matters with Pakistan are bilateral, and there has been no external mediation or linkage to trade deals in this context.

Based On ANI Report