In a bizarre speech on Saturday night, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed “victory” over India and thanked US President Donald Trump for mediating a ceasefire, even as his country violated the truce within hours of making a deal. India has not confirmed mediation by Trump, and had said earlier that the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan had reached the agreement.
Addressing the nation late on Saturday, the Pakistani leader praised his country’s army chief Asim Munir and Donald Trump. He also thanked the Pakistan Army, China, Turkey, and Muslim Brotherhood.
Referring to India, Sharif claimed, “Our attack destroyed enemy’s air bases & ammunition. Their Rafale [aircraft] were shot down by us. We have won and this is a victory of the Pakistanis.”
Before Sharif’s speech, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had called upon Pakistan to “address [ceasefire] violations” and claimed there had been “repeated violations of the understanding” the two countries had reached earlier. The Pakistan prime minister did not make any comments responding to what Misri had said.
He said that the ceasefire agreement had been made “for the benefit of everybody”, but said nothing about the violations by Pakistan.
In a special mention of China and its people, he said, “I have to mention them, from the bottom of my heart. I want to say a big thanks to them.”
He further said, “I want to extend my gratitude to President Trump.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan Information Minister Atta Tarar, speaking late on Saturday night, rejected the Indian Government statement on ceasefire violation. According to a news report, the minister said that Pakistan had not violated the ceasefire agreement.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)
