US President Donald Trump (AP photo)
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump on Thursday once again boasted about his tariff-centred approach to peace negotiations. Speaking at an event of his self-styled UN-like body, the “Board of Peace,” he referred to the India-Pakistan military tensions of May 2025 and claimed he had threatened to impose “200 per cent tariff” on both countries if they had continued fighting.His remarks came in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who attended the Board of Peace event. India also attended the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Gaza as an “observer” country.India was represented at the meeting, held at the Donald J Trump Institute of Peace in Washington DC, by Chargé d’affaires at the Indian Embassy Namgya Khampa, reported PTI.
Trump praised his own role and cited Sharif’s statement as validation of his peace efforts. He also claimed he had saved 25 million lives when he “stopped war” between the two nuclear-armed nations, saying the “war was raging.”At the Board of Peace event, US President Donald Trump said, “…He (Pakistani PM) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India…That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well…I called them and I said, listen, I’m not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don’t settle this up... And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I’m going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, it’s nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we don’t want to fight…11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets…”Trump delivered these remarks at the first meeting of the Board of Peace, his initiative aimed at promoting global peace. Invitations for membership were sent to several countries, including India.Pakistan immediately joined the Trump-led “Board of Peace.” Islamabad has also aligned itself with Trump’s narrative. Its army chief Asim Munir and PM Sharif have earlier nominated Trump for the Nobel Prize, acknowledging his claimed efforts for peace.India, however, has distanced itself from Trump’s claims of mediation in easing tensions between India and Pakistan following Operation Sindoor.Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clarified that no foreign power mediated the India-Pakistan military situation of May 2025.
