Asim Munir, Shehbaz Sharif 'great people': Trump vows to end Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict
Donald Trump made the remarks at the signing of the Thai-Cambodia peace deal on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday hailed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Asim Munir as "great people", and vowed to "quickly" resolve the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict.
Trump was speaking at the signing of the Thailand-Cambodia peace deal on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Referring to the Thai-Cambodia clashes, Trump said that this was one of the eight wars that his administration has ended in "just eight months".
He said, “We're averaging one a month. There is only one left, although I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up. But I'll get that solved very quickly. I know them both. And the Pakistan Field Marshal, and the Prime Minister are great people, and I have no doubt we're going to get that done quickly.”
Trump said he believes that it (solving conflicts) is something he can do, adding that "I do it nicely". He went on to say, "I don't need to do it, I guess. But if I can take time and save millions of lives, that's really a great thing. I can't think of anything better to do."
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The US President said there has never been anything like the eight wars that his administration ended in eight months, adding that "there never will be either".
"I can't think of any President that ever solved one war. I don't think anybody. They start wars, they don't solve them," he added.
Trump said that "nothing like this has been done in history" and that he feels honoured to be a part of it. "On behalf of the United States, I'm proud to help settle this conflict and really develop good friendships, including people that work with each team," he said in reference to the Thailand-Cambodia conflict and the subsequent peace deal.
Trump-Sharif's latest camaraderie
Earlier this month, while speaking from the Oval Office, Donald Trump recalled Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's visit to the US and said, "he said beautifully that the President (Trump) saved millions of lives", a remark made in reference to the US President's claim of 'stopping' the India-Pakistan conflict in May this year.
However, India has remained firm on its stance, stating that there was no third-party mediation involved in reaching a ceasefire understanding with Pakistan. A conflict had erupted between the two nuclear-armed neighbours after the April 22 terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam.
India had launched a military operation, Operation Sindoor, against terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the attack. The resultant conflict between the two nations came to a halt after a ceasefire understanding was reached following four days of fighting.
At the Gaza Peace Summit in Egypt earlier this month, Sharif gave all the credit he has been seeking for "stopping a war" with India. He once again sounded Pakistan's call to nominate Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for the President's "outstanding, extraordinary contributions... to stop the war between India and Pakistan and then achieve a ceasefire along with his very wonderful team".
Trump had called Sharif's words "beautiful", joking that there wasn't anything left to say.
The Pakistani Prime Minister had met Trump at the White House in September when he was in the US for the UN General Assembly.
Before their meeting, Trump had told reporters, "In fact, we have a great leader coming, the prime minister of Pakistan coming, and the field marshal (of) Pakistan. Field marshal is a very great guy, and so is the prime minister, both. And they are coming, and they may be in this room right now, I don't know, because we are late, and I said maybe they would like to join. They actually may be somewhere in the beautiful Oval Office."
This was Sharif's first visit to the White House. Asim Munir, on the other hand, visited Washington twice this year. He was hosted by Trump for lunch at the White House early this summer, and then he accompanied Sharif in September.
