KARACHI: Pakistan remains in Donald Trump’s good books, while the US president reserves critical words for India.
This was evident in his comments at the latest Oval Office press conference, as he referenced his displeasure with New Delhi for its continued purchases of Russian oil.
However, Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “assured” him that they would stop buying oil from Russia, a move the US president described as “a big step” in efforts to economically isolate Moscow.
“So I was not happy that India was buying oil and [Modi] “I was assured today that they will not buy oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House. He said this would be “easy compared to what we did in recent weeks in the Middle East,” referring to the recent ceasefire in Gaza and the subsequent summit in which various stakeholders ratified his peace plan.
“That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same,” he said, talking about stopping purchases of Russian oil.
President Trump also referenced the May conflict between Pakistan and India, reiterating for the umpteenth time that seven planes were shot down. He also recalled the kind words of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“[The] The Prime Minister of Pakistan stood up the other day and said so beautifully ‘you saved millions of lives’… I think he meant [to what] “There would have been a nuclear war with India, it was getting very close and you know, all seven planes, seven planes were shot down.”
Published in Dawn, October 16, 2025
