NEW DELHI: Without referring to US President Donald Trump, PM Modi negated his claim that his administration was instrumental in getting India and Pakistan to droop hostilities and agree to begin complete negotiations for peace.In his deal with to the nation on Monday night, PM Modi emphasised that Pakistan — shaken by the injury inflicted upon its airbases and terror infrastructure it has created — made a direct plea to India’s DGMO for a ceasefire.The refutation got here inside minutes of Trump’s reiteration of the claim he first made on Saturday about his administration being the mediator between New Delhi and Islamabad. On Saturday, my administration helped dealer a full and instant ceasefire – I believe a everlasting one – between India and Pakistan, ending a harmful battle between two nations with plenty of nuclear weapons,” he said Monday.Minutes later, PM Modi asserted that India had only agreed to pause ‘Operation Sindoor‘ and that Pakistan will continue to be under watch, suggesting that all bets will be off if Islamabad did not stop its support to terrorism.He also made it clear that Pakistan’s nuclear blackmail – something which India believes that the US and the West in general have consistently indulged – is not going to deter India from acting against terrorists operating under the cover of the assumption that Pakistan’s generals may unleash their nukes to save groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e Muhammad.Modi made it clear that India will discuss only terrorism and POK with Pakistan – a condition that Islamabad is unlikely to accept, at least in the near future.Trump had claimed that he had used trade as the lever for getting India and Pakistan on the negotiating table. “Come on, we’re going to do loads of commerce with you guys, so let’s cease it. People have by no means actually used commerce the best way I exploit it. Then impulsively they mentioned – let’s cease,” he had first said in the context that the US was going to trade more with both countries.The assertion was not only refuted by official sources that US V-P J D Vance had brought up the trade issue when he called the PM on Friday, it also appeared to be running afoul of Modi’s assertion to let his “powerful on terror” stand be encumbered by any consideration, trade including.In his address, Modi reiterated that trade and terror cannot go together. While he had first articulated it in the context of Pakistan, on Monday its scope appeared to extend to the US president’s claim.
