NEW DELHI: “35 million people said the Pakistan PM would’ve died if it were not for my involvement,” US President Donald Trump said during his State of the Union address, in remarks that appeared to suggest that he saved the life of Pakistan PM and not the 35 million people who would have been impacted by war between India and Pakistan.
Trump was referring to military tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations, India and Pakistan, in May 2025 during Operation Sindoor. And the import of his claim was that Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had told him that 35 million people would have died if he had not intervened to stop the war between the two neighbours.
The US President, as he has done several times in the past, was giving details of the wars that he claims to have stopped and continued to highlight his role in ensuring global peace. In the process, Trump cited the praise made by Pak PM for de-escalating military tensions and saving “35 million” people.
“In my first 10 months, I ended eight wars… Pakistan and India would have had a nuclear war. 35 million people said the Prime Minister of Pakistan would have died if it were not for my involvement…” Trump said in his address.
The US president has repeatedly credited himself with bringing India and Pakistan to the negotiating table and averting a larger conflict.
India, however, has firmly rejected any claim of third-party mediation in easing tensions during Operation Sindoor, its military action targeting crossborder terrorism launched in retaliation for the Pakistan-sponsored Pahalgam terror attack.
