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- Trump announced the truce after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks from both sides, killing about 70 people
- President Trump鈥檚 rhetoric about the ceasefire is 鈥榠rritating鈥� for India, an important ally for the US, an analyst says
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump鈥檚 claim to have helped end fighting between arch-rivals India and Pakistan has driven a wedge between him and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, analysts say.
A week since Trump announced a surprise truce between India and Pakistan to end a brief but intense conflict, New Delhi and Washington differ about the way it was achieved.
The US administration thought 鈥渁n intervention at this stage might give them some basic benefit in terms of highlighting Trump鈥檚 role,鈥� Indian foreign policy expert Harsh V. Pant told AFP.
鈥淭hat... became the driver and in a sense the hurry which with Trump announced the ceasefire,鈥� said Pant from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank.
Fighting began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called 鈥渢errorist camps鈥� in Pakistan following an April militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people.
New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the militants it claimed were behind the attack, which Pakistan denies.
Trump announced the truce after four days of missile, drone and artillery attacks from both sides, killing about 70 people, including dozens of civilians, and sent thousands fleeing.
He later boasted about bringing India and Pakistan 鈥渂ack from the brink,鈥� telling Fox News on Friday it was 鈥渁 bigger success than I鈥檒l ever be given credit for.鈥�
New Delhi however shrugs off these claims, which go against decades-long Indian policy that opposes foreign mediation in conflicts with Islamabad.
India and Pakistan claim the currently divided Kashmir in full. New Delhi considers the Himalayan region an internal matter, with politicians long viewing external mediation as a sign of weakness.
Modi鈥檚 first speech since the ceasefire did not mention US involvement and his government has since insisted that talks with Pakistan are 鈥渟trictly bilateral.鈥�
India was also quick to dismiss Trump鈥檚 suggestion that trade pressures hastened a truce.
鈥淭he issue of trade did not come up鈥� in discussions with US officials, the Indian foreign ministry said this week.
According to ORF fellow Manoj Joshi, Trump鈥檚 rhetoric is 鈥渋rritating鈥� for India 鈥� whose strategic location and massive market size have made the country an important ally for the United States.
But India is being 鈥渧ery cautious鈥� because it is in negotiations for a trade deal with Washington to avoid steep tarriffs, he said.
鈥淲e (India) would like the agenda to go in a different direction,鈥� said Joshi.
It is also a thorny matter domestically.
Main opposition Congress party said Trump鈥檚 announcement had 鈥渦pstaged鈥� the Hindu nationalist leader鈥檚 鈥渕uch-delayed address.鈥�
It also demanded an all-party meeting to ask whether India is changing its policy on 鈥渢hird-party mediation鈥� for Kashmir, disputed between Pakistan and India.
The two South Asian rivals had in the 1970s agreed to settle 鈥渄ifferences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations.鈥�
Modi has previously poked fun at former Congress governments for 鈥渨eak鈥� responses against Pakistan in various skirmishes.
鈥淪o India would obviously respond to that and deny that... about as politely as they feel they can get away with,鈥� said South Asia researcher Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of political consultancy Eurasia Group.
Trump鈥檚 claimed mediation was welcomed by Islamabad, which 鈥渘eeded an American intervention to give them the off-ramp they needed to get out of a conflict,鈥� Chaudhuri added.
On Thursday, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar reaffirmed that 鈥渨here Pakistan is concerned, our relations, our dealings with them will be bilateral, and strictly bilateral.鈥�
But the same day, speaking from Qatar, Trump repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire and using trade as a tool.
鈥�(I said) let鈥檚 do trade instead of war. And Pakistan was very happy with that, and India was very happy with that,鈥� Trump said in his speech.
It has been a decade since Modi last met a Pakistani leader. Since then, relations have deteriorated, coming to a head when India unilaterally revoked in 2019 limited autonomy of the part of Kashmir it administers.
According to Joshi, 鈥渢he hyphenation of India and Pakistan鈥� is also 鈥渋rritating鈥� for New Delhi, which has tried to carve out a separate identity on the global stage.
鈥淭he optics of Trump hammering it day after day... is politically damaging for Modi,鈥� Sushant Singh, a former Indian soldier and South Asian studies lecturer at Yale University, wrote on X.
鈥淸Modi] can鈥檛 personally counter Trump, and despite attempts by India鈥檚 big media to play it down, social media amplifies Trump,鈥� Singh said.