Trump Calls Shehbaz, Asim 'Great People' and Vows Quick Resolution

US President Donald Trump heaped praise on Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, calling them "great people" while vowing to swiftly resolve the escalating conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit here on Sunday, Trump positioned the Pak-Afghan tensions—flaring up two weeks ago with dozens of casualties—as the final frontier in his ambitious peacemaking agenda. "I know them both... the Field Marshal and the Prime Minister are great people, and I have no doubt we are going to get that done quickly," he said, dismissing it as "an easy one for me." This comes amid ongoing peace talks in Istanbul aimed at extending a fragile Doha ceasefire, with Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warning of potential "open war" if negotiations fail.

Trump's remarks followed his oversight of a historic ceasefire signing between Thailand and Cambodia, dubbed the "Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords", which he hailed as a "very long peace" brokered under his administration. The agreement, building on a three-month-old truce, addressed border disputes and trade frictions in the presence of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul, and Cambodian PM Hun Manet. Trump boasted that this marked the eighth war his second-term government has ended in just eight months—"averaging one a month"—a claim he reiterated while lamenting predecessors who "start wars" rather than solve them. Fact-checks from outlets like the Associated Press note the figure is exaggerated, as many cited interventions involve truces or prevented escalations rather than full resolutions, including deals in Gaza, Serbia-Kosovo, and Ethiopia-Egypt.

The US leader's affinity for Sharif and Munir echoes earlier White House meetings in September, where Trump lauded them as "great leaders" amid a US-Pakistan trade thaw and discussions on Afghan stability, including the Bagram Air Base. Sharif has reciprocated, hailing Trump as a "man of peace" for purportedly averting nuclear risks in a May India-Pakistan clash. That episode stemmed from the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing 26 civilians—mostly tourists—claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba. India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7, launching precision missile strikes on nine terror sites in Pakistan, targeting Jaish-e-Mohammed camps in Bahawalpur and elsewhere. The five-day standoff ended in a ceasefire on May 10, with skirmishes along the Line of Control claiming additional lives.

Also Read: Trump Claims India is Cutting Back on Russian Oil Amid China Deal Push

Trump has repeatedly taken credit for de-escalating the India-Pakistan crisis, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmly rebutted this in Parliament, asserting no foreign mediation was sought. "No world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor," Modi stated, recounting how he rebuffed a late-night call from US Vice President JD Vance on May 9 amid force briefings. Vance had warned of a looming Pakistani counterstrike, to which Modi replied that any aggression would exact a "heavy price". India maintains the bilateral understanding was direct, underscoring its zero-tolerance stance on cross-border terrorism, while Pakistan alleged the Pahalgam attack was a "false flag". As Trump eyes a Nobel Peace Prize nomination—bolstered by Cambodian PM Hun Manet's endorsement—his global diplomacy tour highlights a pattern of bold claims amid complex regional realities.

Also Read: Trump Announces 10% Import Tariff on Canada Following Trade Dispute