The Congress on Tuesday strongly criticised former US President Donald Trump for equating India with Pakistan and drawing a parallel between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Shehbaz Sharif.
Congress leader Pawan Khera, who heads the party’s media and publicity department, posted a video clip of Trump’s remarks from an event in Saudi Arabia, accusing the former US President of once again "hyphenating" India and Pakistan.
“US president says it again: ‘I used trade to make a deal between them, and they agreed’. Not only is Donald Trump hyphenating India with Pakistan, he is comparing Prime Minister Modi with Shehbaz Sharif,” Khera wrote on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and questioning whether such a comparison was acceptable.
Praveen Chakravarty, chairman of the Congress’ Professionals' Wing and the party’s Data Analytics department, also criticised the Indian government for remaining silent on Trump’s remarks. “'Pakistan’s prime minister and India’s prime minister are equal. Pakistan and India are equal powers.' Who is saying this? Prime Minister Modi’s ‘good friend’ President Trump,” Chakravarty posted on X.
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram added to the chorus, quoting Trump’s remarks and commenting, “This narrative wasn’t part of the syllabus.”
Trump made these comments during his address at a Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh, part of his ongoing visit to the Gulf. He claimed that his administration had “successfully brokered a historic ceasefire” between India and Pakistan to de-escalate rising tensions.
“As I said in my inaugural address, my greatest hope is to be a peacemaker and a unifier. I don’t like war. We have the greatest military, by the way, in the history of the world,” Trump said. He elaborated that trade was used as a tool to negotiate the peace deal. “I used trade to a large extent to do it. And I said, ‘Fellows, come on. Let’s make a deal. Let’s do some trading.’ Let’s not trade nuclear missiles. Let’s trade the things that you make so beautifully,” he said, addressing a gathering that included Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Trump went on to describe both Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Sharif as “very powerful leaders, very strong leaders, good leaders, smart leaders,” adding that the violence “all stopped,” and expressing hope that peace would continue.
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Just a day before, Trump had also claimed that his administration had helped prevent a potential “nuclear conflict” between India and Pakistan by offering increased trade opportunities as an incentive for peace.
According to Trump, the two countries agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire” after what he described as a long night of US-mediated talks. He later posted on Truth Social, reaffirming the US’s role in brokering what he called a “historic and heroic decision” by India and Pakistan to halt hostilities. He also offered to help both sides find a “solution” to the Kashmir issue.
However, India has consistently maintained that the Kashmir dispute is a bilateral matter with no scope for third-party intervention. New Delhi asserts that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India.
Official sources in India also clarified that the ceasefire agreement was the result of direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan, with no involvement from any external nation. On May 10, both countries agreed to halt hostilities after four days of cross-border drone and missile attacks.
Also Read: Any Pak conflict will stay conventional, not nuclear: India
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