Washington: US President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for preventing a nuclear war between India and Pakistan during his State of the Union address.
In a speech lasting over 100 minutes on today, Trump said Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had told him that if he had not intervened, as many as 35 million people could have died in a potential conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
“I ended eight wars in my first 10 months, including the India-Pakistan conflict,” Trump said during the address.
Changing figures in repeated claims
Since May 10 last year, Trump has reportedly made similar claims nearly 100 times. However, the projected casualty figures he cited have varied. Initially, he mentioned one crore (10 million), later 2.5 crore (25 million), and now 3.5 crore (35 million) potential deaths.
India rejects third-party mediation
The Government of India has consistently rejected such assertions, reiterating that it does not accept third-party mediation in bilateral matters with Pakistan.
In his address, Trump also claimed to have helped ease tensions in other global flashpoints, including Israel-Iran and Kosovo-Serbia, and asserted that Americans at home and abroad are safer under his leadership.
