Washington, Feb 20 (IANS) Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lavished praise on US President Donald Trump at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace, crediting him with preventing a potential India-Pakistan war — even as he failed to secure a bilateral meeting with the American leader during his Washington visit.
Even his meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department could not materialize. It is understood that the visiting Pakistani delegation pushed hard for bilateral meetings with Trump and Rubio.
Addressing the multilateral gathering, Sharif said Trump’s intervention had “potentially averted loss of tens of millions of people” and declared: “You have truly proved to be a man of peace.”
He went further, telling Trump that “we are truly savior of South Asia,” in a striking endorsement of Washington’s role in regional de-escalation.
Sharif praised Trump’s “unique initiative” and “dynamic leadership,” saying his “bold diplomacy has surely brought calm to many international serious hotspots.”
The Pakistani leader also backed the Gaza peace framework unveiled at the meeting, stating that “the people of Palestine have long endured illegal occupation and immense suffering” and calling for “a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination through the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and contiguous state of Palestine.”
He said Trump’s efforts would “mark a place in the annals of history.”
However, despite Sharif’s strong public support for Trump’s diplomatic claims, there was no bilateral meeting scheduled between him and the US President on the sidelines of the event. Nor did Sharif hold a formal meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the visit, with diplomatic sources indicating that an expected engagement did not materialise.
The absence of a one-on-one meeting with Trump is notable given Sharif’s public endorsement of US mediation in South Asia. While Islamabad publicly embraced Washington’s role, the visit did not translate into a standalone engagement with the US leadership.
Earlier in the event, Trump had described how he intervened during heightened India-Pakistan tensions. He claimed he told both sides: “I’m not doing trade deals with you two guys, if you don’t settle this up,” and added that he warned he would impose “200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries” if the conflict continued.
Referring to the episode, Trump said, “These are two very powerful nations. These are two nuclear nations. And I don’t wanna say what was gonna happen, but, you know, bad things happen.” He added that “we worked out a deal” within days and said he had spoken to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as “a great man.”
India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed neighbours, have fought multiple wars since 1947 and remain divided over Kashmir. While ceasefire arrangements have held in recent years, tensions between the two countries continue to draw close international scrutiny, particularly during periods of escalation.
–IANS
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