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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (Jul 29) denied that any world leader had pressured India to halt its recent conflict with Pakistan, dismissing repeated claims by US President Donald Trump that he had brokered peace.
The South Asian rivals fought a four-day conflict in May that left more than 70 people dead on both sides before Trump announced a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbours.
"No world leader asked us to stop the operation," Modi told parliament during a debate on "Operation Sindoor", the military campaign launched against Pakistan in May. Modi did not name Trump in his speech.
The prime minister instead claimed that it was Pakistan which had pleaded for the fighting to stop after feeling the "heat of our attacks".
The conflict erupted after gunmen attacked tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir in April, killing 26 men, most of them Hindus. India accused Pakistan of backing the attackers, an allegation Islamabad denied.
An Indian army soldier stands guard outside a forward post along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan during a media tour in Indian-controlled Kashmir, India, Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (Photo: AP/Mukhtar Khan)
TRUMP'S CLAIMS DISMISSED
Trump has repeatedly said he was responsible for brokering peace between the two countries, including most recently on Monday.
"If I weren't around, you'd have, right now, six major wars going on. India would be fighting with Pakistan," Trump said during a visit to Scotland.
Modi's comments came after Rahul Gandhi from the opposition Congress party challenged him to state in parliament that Trump was "lying".
Earlier on Tuesday, Home Minister Amit Shah told lawmakers that three Pakistani gunmen involved in the April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir were killed during a military operation on Monday.
Shah said all three were Pakistani nationals and identified two of them as members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist group based in Pakistan.
ONGOING TENSIONS IN KASHMIR
Muslim-majority Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence from British rule in 1947, with both nations claiming the region in full. They have fought two wars and several skirmishes over its control.
The May fighting pushed the neighbours close to another war before Trump announced a ceasefire. The opposition has since questioned whether there was third-party mediation, a claim New Delhi has consistently denied.
