President Donald Trump on Friday said he had helped India and Pakistan avert a nuclear war by using trade with the US as leverage to push for a ceasefire.
The South Asian neighbours exchanged artillery, plane and drone strikes this month after gunmen killed 26 people in April in the Himalayan tourist spot of Pahalgam in the Kashmir valley. India accused Pakistan of backing the attack, which Islamabad has denied.
“We stopped India and Pakistan from fighting, I believe that could have turned out into a nuclear disaster,” Mr Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday.
“We dropped trade, and we said we can't trade with people that are shooting at each other and potentially using nuclear weapons. … They're great leaders in those countries, and they understood, and they agreed, and that all stopped.”
Mr Trump infuriated New Delhi this month when he announced the US had “mediated” a ceasefire. Not only did his announcement pre-empt India making a statement, New Delhi has long maintained that any issues with Pakistan, including over the disputed Kashmir region, can only be addressed bilaterally and without the intervention of a third country.
India has insisted the recent cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was decided through direct contacts between the two countries' armies.
During an Indian Ministry of External Affairs news conference on Thursday, a spokesman said trade discussions never came up in ceasefire talks.
“The issue of trade or tariff did not come up in any of those discussions,” said Randhir Jaiswal.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed Mr Trump's mediation and his “very pivotal and paramount role” in ending the crisis.
According to US figures, trade between America and India totalled about $129.2 billion last year, compared to $7.3 billion between the US and Pakistan.
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
