Trump claims credit for preventing India-Pakistan nuclear conflict

President Donald Trump yesterday said that US intervention prevented a "bad nuclear war" between India and Pakistan, after the South Asian rivals agreed to a ceasefire following a series of clashes.

"We stopped a nuclear conflict. I think it could have been a bad nuclear war, millions of people could have been killed. So I'm very proud of that," Trump, who announced the ceasefire on Saturday, told reporters at the White House.

There were no reports of explosions or projectiles fired overnight, with the Indian army saying Sunday was the first peaceful night along their border in recent days. The ceasefire followed four days of intense exchanges of fire as the nuclear-armed arch rivals targeted each other's military installations with missiles and drones, killing dozens of civilians.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday warned Pakistan that New Delhi would target "terrorist hideouts" across the border again if there were new attacks on India and would not be deterred by what he called Islamabad's "nuclear blackmail".

Modi was speaking two days after the ceasefire. "If there is a terrorist attack on India, a fitting reply will be given... on our terms," Modi said, speaking in Hindi in a televised address. "In the coming days, we will measure every step of Pakistan... what kind of attitude Pakistan will adopt."

"India will strike precisely and decisively at the terrorist hideouts developing under the cover of nuclear blackmail," he said, and listed New Delhi's conditions for holding talks with Islamabad and lifting curbs imposed after the Kashmir attack.

"India's position is clear: terror and talks cannot go together; terror and trade cannot go together. And water and blood cannot flow together," he said, referring to a water sharing pact between the two countries New Delhi suspended.

In Washington, Trump said the leaders of India and Pakistan were "unwavering", and the US "helped a lot" to secure the ceasefire, adding that trade was a "big reason" why the countries stopped fighting. "We are going to do a lot of trade with Pakistan... and India. We are negotiating with India right now. We are soon going to negotiate with Pakistan," he said, just ahead of Modi's speech.

The military confrontation began on Wednesday, when India said it launched strikes on nine "terrorist infrastructure" sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir following an attack by militants in Indian-administered Kashmir last month that killed 26 men. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan.

Islamabad denied any links to the attack and called for a neutral investigation. It said the targets hit on Wednesday were civilian sites. India and Pakistan both rule parts of the Himalayan region of Kashmir, but claim it in full.

Yesterday, India reopened 32 airports it had shut during the clashes, with the Airports Authority of India saying in a statement they were available for civil operations. Some schools remained closed. Pakistan had reopened its airspace on Saturday.

Pakistan's international bonds rallied sharply, adding as much as 5.7 cents in the dollar, Tradeweb data showed. Late on Friday, the International Monetary Fund approved a fresh $1.4-billion loan and also the first review of its $7-billion programme.

Pakistan's benchmark share index .KSE closed up 9.4 percent on Monday, while India's blue-chip Nifty 50 .NSEI index closed 3.8% higher in its best session since February 2021.