Trump praises Pakistanis as 'brilliant', touts trade as peace tool again

United States President Donald Trump has described Pakistanis as “brilliant people” and expressed a strong desire to expand bilateral trade, while claiming credit for averting what he called a near-nuclear conflict between Pakistan and India.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump said his intervention helped bring the two nuclear-armed neighbours back from the brink of war following a period of intense military escalation.

“That was going to be a nuclear war, I think, or close… And now everyone’s happy,” Trump said, referring to tensions between the South Asian rivals. “Missiles were being fired, retaliation was underway, and both sides were escalating rapidly.”

Trump credited his administration’s behind-the-scenes diplomacy for halting the crisis and said that engaging both sides through trade was part of his peace-building strategy.

“I told my people, call them up—let’s start trading immediately,” he said.

He noted that despite positive relations, trade between the US and Pakistan remains limited. “We can’t forget them because it does take two rectangle,” he added, in what appeared to be a slip of the tongue while attempting to stress the importance of cooperation.

Trump used the opportunity to criticise India’s economic policies, calling it “the country with the highest tariffs in the world.” However, he acknowledged that India had shown readiness to reduce tariffs in its trade dealings with Washington.

“India… they make it almost impossible to do business,” Trump said. “Do you know that they’re willing to cut 100% of their tariffs for the United States?”

Trump went on to characterise his diplomatic efforts as one of the most significant achievements of his presidency.

“A bigger success than I’ll ever be given credit for,” he said. “Those are major nuclear powers. Those are not just little powers and they were angry.”

Reflecting on the danger of the standoff, Trump described the escalation as dangerously close to a nuclear exchange.

“It was tit for tat. It was getting deeper – more missiles. Everyone was saying ‘stronger, stronger,’ to a point where the next one’s going to be, you know what? The N word,” he said.

“It’s the N word. That’s a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The N word used in a nuclear sense—that’s the worst thing that can happen,” he continued. “And I think they were very close. The hatred was great.”

Trump framed the episode as a case where diplomacy, combined with economic engagement, prevented a global catastrophe.

“I’m using trade to settle scores and to make peace,” he said.

Concluding the interview, Trump portrayed himself as a president who delivers results. “We worked not only for world peace, but also for economic progress,” he said. “Trade is a tool for peace.”

The latest escalation between Pakistan and India began on April 22, when an attack in the IIOJK resort town of Pahalgam killed 26 people. India immediately blamed Pakistan for the incident, despite providing no public evidence.

In response, India undertook a series of hostile actions the next day on April 23, including suspending the 65-year-old Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), cancelling visas for Pakistani citizens, closing the Wagah-Attari border crossing, ordering the shutdown of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, and reducing diplomatic staff at each other's embassies.

Pakistan strongly rejected the accusation, calling it unsubstantiated, but took reciprocal measures through its National Security Committee (NSC). These included halting trade with India, closing Pakistani airspace to Indian aircraft, and other countersteps.

Tensions further escalated in the early hours of May 7, when missile strikes hit six cities in Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), destroying a mosque and killing dozens of civilians, including women, children, and the elderly.

In a swift military response, Pakistan’s armed forces shot down Indian warplanes, including three Rafale jets, widely regarded as a key asset of the Indian Air Force. Over the following two days, India launched waves of Israeli-made drones, which were also neutralised by Pakistan's military.

The confrontation intensified again in the early hours of May 10, when India targeted several Pakistani airbases with missile strikes. In retaliation, Pakistan launched Operation Bunyan-un-Marsoos, damaging Indian military installations, including missile storage sites, airbases, and other strategic targets.

By Saturday evening, US President Donald Trump announced that a ceasefire had been reached following intense diplomatic efforts overnight. Minutes later, the agreement was confirmed separately by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the Indian foreign secretary.

But despite the military ceasefire the war of narratives has waged on. 

While Pakistan publicly credited US President Donald Trump — along with China and Gulf states — for playing a vital role in defusing tensions, India downplayed foreign involvement.

Indian officials insisted the truce was the result of direct bilateral talks, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal clarifying that trade was never part of discussions with US officials.

Trump, however, reiterated at the US-Saudi Investment Forum that his administration had brokered the ceasefire using trade as leverage. “Let’s not trade nuclear missiles, let’s trade the things you make so beautifully,” he said, casting himself as the key peacemaker between the nuclear-armed rivals.