NEW DELHI: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif found himself in an awkward moment at Donald Trump’s self-styled inaugural Board of Peace meeting on Thursday as the US President publicly asked him to stand up as he claimed credit for halting military tensions between India and Pakistan. He further remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “is watching us right now.”Several videos from the event in Washington have gone viral, showing Trump calling on Sharif during his address. “I think you (Shehbaz Sharif) should actually stand. Come, please, stand just for a second,” Trump said speaking at the first meeting of the “Board of Peace,” as the Pakistani Prime Minister rose briefly from his seat.
Trump then added, “I spoke to PM Modi, he said that he is watching us right now.”Trump again cited the India-Pakistan military tensions of May 2025 and claimed he had used trade pressure to defuse the situation.Referring to Sharif’s remarks, Trump said, “..He (Pakistani PM) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India…That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well…I called them and I said, listen, I’m not doing trade deals with you two guys. if you don’t settle this up...”“And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I’m going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, it’s nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we don’t want to fight…11 the jets were shot down. Very expensive jets…” he added.Sharif was present at the event as Pakistan formally joined the Trump-led Board of Peace. Islamabad has publicly aligned itself with Trump’s narrative on the alleged de-escalation.India, however, attended the inaugural meeting only as an “observer” country and has not joined the initiative. According to PTI, India was represented by Chargé d’affaires at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, Namgya Khampa, at the meeting held at the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.The Board of Peace has been set up by Trump as part of his broader global peace initiative, including plans related to the redevelopment of the Gaza Strip. Invitations were sent to multiple countries, including India.
