Indo-Pak conflict: Trump was seeking mileage out of it, no basis in his claim, says US Congressman

Mumbai: US Congressman Shri Thanedar said on Monday that there was no basis for President Donald Trump to take credit for stopping the conflict between India and Pakistan, and accused him of seeking political mileage from the situation.

In an interaction at the Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh, Thanedar said that after the Pahalgam attack in which terrorists killed 26 people, it was natural for India to respond with ‘Operation Sindoor’ and the US certainly accepted New Delhi’s position.

He said India and Pakistan are capable of solving their issues. Neither India nor Pakistan invited the US to mediate, he said.

Thanedar, a second-term US Representative representing Michigan's 13th Congressional District, has introduced seven articles of impeachment against President Trump.

“I don’t think there was any basis for the announcement made by Trump. He only wanted to seek mileage out of it, so he made the announcement," he said.

Earlier this month, India launched Operation Sindoor and hit terror hideouts in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of drone and missile strikes.

Trump had claimed that his administration stopped a “nuclear conflict” between India and Pakistan, telling the South Asian neighbours that America would do a “lot of trade” with them if they ended hostilities.

Indian government sources in New Delhi have maintained that the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firings and military actions on land, air and sea and that no third party was involved.

Trump had announced India and Pakistan agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire” and claimed that it happened after a long night of talks “mediated by the United States”.

Later, in a post on Truth Social, he offered to work with India and Pakistan for a “solution” on Kashmir while crediting Washington for helping the two nations arrive at the “historic and heroic decision” of stopping the conflict.

India maintains that the Kashmir issue is a bilateral matter and that there is no space for any third-party engagement.

“America had no role in it (in stopping the conflict). India too denied any such thing. There is no basis for Trump taking credit for it,” Thanedar said.

“India and Pakistan are capable of solving their issues. I don’t think either India or Pakistan invited the US to mediate,” he added.

Thanedar said the Indian response to the Pahalgam attack was measured, and Pakistan should not have reacted to it.

“There was no war. So there was no such thing called a ceasefire,” he said.

A bitter critic of Trump, Thanedar said Trump’s announcement stemmed from his “love to stay in the limelight”.

“He cannot sleep if there is no mention of him in the 24-hour news cycle. He wants to manage every news cycle. So he keeps announcing new things which are newsworthy. But they are not well thought (out),” he said.

Thanedar said Trump’s policy on immigrants is harmful for the US, as it is a country of immigrants. He advocated the need to reform the US immigrant policy and said the rules related to it are outdated.