“He’s trying to play peacemaker”: Defence Expert after Trump’s mediation offer on Kashmir

Pune: After US President Donald Trump’s offered to mediate on the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan, Defence Expert Brigadier Hemant Mahajan (Retd) on Sunday said termed the move as ineffective, citing Trump’s previous failed mediation attempts in global conflicts.

Speaking to ANI, Mahajan said, “Earlier, Donald Trump had stated twice that he had no interest in the Kashmir conflict, and now suddenly, he’s trying to play a peacemaker. When he tried to negotiate between Ukraine and Russia, neither Russia nor Ukraine listened to him. Similarly, nobody listened to him when he tried to negotiate between Hamas and others. So now he’s trying his hand at India. Pakistan cannot be trusted. Donald Trump’s negotiations have no meaning.”

Further, emphasizing that Pakistan cannot be trusted and is escalating grey zone warfare tactics against India, Mahajan urged the US to offer tangible support, like advanced technology and intelligence, rather than unsolicited advice.

“We must tell Donald Trump and America that if they are India’s friends, they should help practically. We require technological intelligence, high-end technology, and drones. They should focus on this rather than giving us advice. Pakistan violated the ceasefire yesterday because it wants to start a grey zone warfare. This means that by sending drones over us, for which we have to enforce blackouts, they are harming our economic activity and airfields. So we have to give the same treatment to Pakistan. A five times harsher punishment must meet every action of theirs so they think twice before carrying out the next ceasefire violation,” Defence Expert Brigadier Hemant Mahajan (Retd) said.

This came after President Trump on Sunday welcomed the cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan saying that millions of people could have died if the peace had not been worked out. The US President was making a reference to a potential nuclear fallout between the two nations.

In a post on Truth Social, the US President said, “I am very proud of the strong and unwaveringly powerful leadership of India and Pakistan for having the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to fully know and understand that it was time to stop the current aggression that could have led to the death and destruction of so many, and so much. Millions of good and innocent people could have died! Your legacy is greatly enhanced by your brave actions.”

Trump continued to hold on to the claim that the US had helped broker peace and offered to mediate for a solution on Kashmir.

“I am proud that the USA was able to help you arrive at this historic and heroic decision. While not even discussed, I am going to increase trade, substantially, with both of these great Nations. Additionally, I will work with you both to see if, after a “thousand years,” a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!”

India has time and again rejected any third-party intervention on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and has unequivocally expressed that the region is an integral part of India.