US President Donald Trump, who has now on several occasions in the past praised Chief of Defence Force and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, has now called him a “highly respected general”.
The US president’s latest remarks came as he addressed a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida. During the press conference, Trump announced a new class of heavily armed warships that will be named after himself — an honour usually reserved for leaders who have left office.
Asked about the progress of talks between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said that his administration had so far “stopped eight wars” — a claim that he has repeated in the past.
“We stopped a potential nuclear war between Pakistan and India,” Trump said.
“The head of Pakistan and a highly respected general — he is a field marshal — and also the prime minister of Pakistan said that resident Trump saved 10 million lives, maybe more, by getting that war [sic].”
“You know, eight planes were shot down, the war was starting to rage,” he said.
“We have solved many wars; the only one we have not solved yet is Russia and Ukraine,” the US president said. He noted that there was a lot of “hatred” between the two nations.
This is the latest in a series of compliments that Trump has given to CDF Field Marshal Munir since their meeting in Washington in June. On June 19, he extended an unprecedented invitation to the army chief for a historic luncheon at the White House.
The US president has since lauded Munir on several occasions, even referring to him as “my favourite field marshal”.
On October 29, Trump praised CDF Field Marshal Munir, calling him a “great fighter” while talking about the Pakistan and India conflict in May.
In his comments, he said: “I’m doing a trade deal with India, and I have great respect and love, as you know, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as you know. We have a great relationship,” he said.
“Likewise, the prime minister of Pakistan is a great guy, and the field marshal — they have a field marshal. You know why he’s a field marshal? He’s a great fighter. He really is. He’s a great guy, too.“
A day prior, he had lauded the role of the CDF in the ceasefire agreement following the May conflict.
The May conflict between Pakistan and India was sparked by an attack on Hindu tourists in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, said was backed by Pakistan. Pakistan has denied involvement, with the foreign ministry having questioned the credibility of India’s account of the events, saying it was “replete with fabrications”.
Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones during the four-day conflict, killing dozens of people, before agreeing to a ceasefire. In the immediate aftermath of the conflict, Pakistan said it took down six Indian fighter jets during the conflict, including the French-made Rafale. New Delhi acknowledged “some losses” during the conflict but denied losing six jets.
Months later in September, PM Shehbaz — during a United Nations General Assembly speech — said that the Pakistan Air Force turned “seven of the Indian jets” into scrap and dust. Later, Trump also described how he confronted both nations during a conflict that saw “seven aircraft shot down”. In November, he stated that eight planes were “essentially” shot down.
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