As Pakistan and India bury their dead from four days of cross-border clashes, US President Donald Trump’s use of trade and tariffs to coerce the nuclear-armed neighbours into talks has evoked starkly different reactions from New Delhi and Islamabad.
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In Pakistan, the government and public celebrated what they called a “victory” after their Chinese-armed air force and air defences repeatedly repelled Indian warplanes and drones that breached the country’s airspace between May 7 and 11. Trump’s offer to mediate talks on Kashmir, proxy warfare, and India’s suspension of the Indus River water-sharing agreement was warmly received, fuelling a sense of triumph.
In India, however, the mood was more sombre as politicians and media outlets grappled with the reality of a military stalemate, a bitter contrast to the expectations of an overwhelming victory stoked by fiery rhetoric and live broadcasts proclaiming the Pakistani military’s imminent defeat.
Appearing to reject Trump’s mediation overtures, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that the conflict with Pakistan had merely been “paused”. In a televised address, he pledged vigilance and warned that any future terrorist attack attributed to Pakistan would be treated as an act of war.
“We have only paused our military action. In the coming days, we will measure Pakistan’s every step by what action it adopts,” Modi said.
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