US State Secy Rubio meets Shehbaz Sharif, appreciates Pakistan for joining Board of Peace

He also held a meeting with the Pakistan PM and reaffirmed their strategic relationship on critical minerals development and counterterrorism.

"Met today with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Appreciate Pakistan's ongoing support of POTUS's Peace Plan for Gaza and for joining the Board of Peace. In our meeting, we discussed the importance of our strategic relationship on critical minerals development and counterterrorism," he said.

During the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, Shehbaz Sharif showered praises on Trump for his "mediation" in the Pakistan-India conflict, calling him a "man of peace" and "saviour of the people of South Asia."

"Your timely and very effective intervention to achieve a ceasefire between India and Pakistan potentially averted the loss of millions of people's lives. You have truly proved to be a man of peace and let me say you are turly saviour of the people of South Asia," Shehbaz Sharif said.

Trump reiterated his claim of saving millions of lives during the India and Pakistan conflict in 2024, stating that he threatened to impose a "200 per cent tariff" and both countries halted the conflict as there's "nothing like money."

Speaking at his Board of Peace, Trump also increased the number of jets that were shot down during the conflict, taking the number to 11 from his previous claims of eight.

Trump again repeated that he called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the conflict, despite India's rejection of any third-party mediation.

"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," Trump said.

"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 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets," he added.

Trump was referring to the conflict post-Pahalgam terror attack in April of 2024, in which 26 people were killed. India, in response to the attack, launched precise attacks on Pakistan's terrorist infrastructure under Operation Sindoor.

India has consistently refuted Trump's claims, stating that the ceasefire was achieved bilaterally through the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs), without third-party involvement.

India has also reiterated its long-standing position that any issues with Pakistan, including those related to Jammu and Kashmir, are to be resolved bilaterally between the two countries. (ANI)