Operation Sindoor Comes to the Spotlight Again as Donald Trump Claims to Mediate the Ceasefire

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US President Donald Trump has made a striking claim that Nawaz Sharif told him that 35 million people would have died without a truce between India and Pakistan. Trump’s comments have drawn global attention, highlighting the stakes he says were discussed during tense diplomatic talks on South Asian stability.

What Did Trump Claim about India-Pakistan Peace Talks?

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (February 24, 2026) once again claimed credit for brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He told lawmakers during his State of the Union address that his intervention had averted a potential nuclear conflict between the two countries.

Speaking before Congress, the US President further asserted that the situation could have spiralled into a nuclear war. “Pakistan and India would have been in a nuclear war,” Trump said, adding that "35 million people, said the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Shehbaz Sharif), would have died if it were not for my involvement.”

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Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, previously, on his ongoing US visit, agreed to the claims of the US President in the White House.

The Republican President was referring to the military confrontation that followed the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, last year, in which 26 civilians were killed. In response, India carried out strikes on terror bases in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Pakistan under Operation Sindoor.

Trump on Trade Negotiation

Speaking at his Board of Peace event, US President Donald Trump said he had warned India and Pakistan that trade negotiations would be halted unless they resolved their differences. “...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,” he said.

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Closing Note

Since the confrontation in May 2025, Trump has repeatedly asserted that he was responsible for halting the India-Pakistan conflict. He has consistently maintained that his administration used trade agreements and tariff measures as leverage to dissuade both countries from escalating tensions.

He has also cited varying figures regarding jets being shot down during the hostilities. However, he has not specified which side’s aircraft he was referring to in his remarks.

New Delhi has maintained that the ceasefire understanding reached on May 10 was the outcome of direct talks between India and Pakistan, asserting that there was no third-party involvement in the process.

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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, “US Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacted him to say, the Pakistanis are ready to talk", after which Pakistan's Director-General of Military Operations reached out to India.

"There was no call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump between April 22 (the Pahalgam terror attack) and May 10 (the date the ceasefire was announced)," Mr Jaishankar said in parliament recently during a debate on Operation Sindoor.