Donald Trump Praises Pakistan Leadership, Hints at Mediating Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict

International

oi-Gaurav Sharma

Published: Sunday, October 26, 2025, 17:10 [IST]

U.S.
President
Donald
Trump
stirred
diplomatic
ripples
with
his
recent
remarks
praising
Pakistan’s
leadership
and
expressing
readiness
to
“resolve” the
ongoing
Pakistan-Afghanistan
tensions.

Speaking
at
the
ASEAN
summit
in
Kuala
Lumpur
during
the
signing
of
the
Thailand-Cambodia
peace
accord,
Trump
described
Pakistan’s
Prime
Minister
Shehbaz
Sharif
and
Army
Chief
General
Asim
Munir
as
“great
people.” He
went
on
to
say
he
could
“very
quickly”
settle
the
conflict
between
Pakistan
and
Afghanistan.

“We’re
averaging
one
war
ended
every
month
–
eight
wars
in
eight
months.
There’s
only
one
left
now,
though
I
heard
Pakistan
and
Afghanistan
have
started
up
again.
But
I’ll
get
that
solved
very
quickly,”
Trump
said,
touting
his
conflict-resolution
record.

Remarks
Viewed
as
Diplomatic
Snub
to
India

Trump’s
effusive
praise
for
Pakistan’s
leadership
–
coupled
with
his
repeated
references
to
mediating
regional
disputes
–
has
been
perceived
by
analysts
as
a
diplomatic
slight
toward
India,
which
has
consistently
rejected
any
third-party
mediation
in
South
Asian
affairs,
particularly
over
Kashmir
or
border
issues.

Earlier
this
month,
Trump
recalled
a
meeting
with
Shehbaz
Sharif
in
Washington,
where
the
Pakistani
Prime
Minister
reportedly
credited
him
with
“stopping
a
war”
between
India
and
Pakistan
earlier
this
year.
India,
however,
firmly
denied
any
U.S.
involvement
in
its
bilateral
ceasefire
talks
with
Pakistan,
reiterating
that
all
discussions
on
the
issue
occur
only
between
New
Delhi
and
Islamabad.

Pakistan-Afghanistan
Talks
Continue

Meanwhile,
Pakistan
and
Afghanistan
have
resumed
dialogue
in
Istanbul,
following
a
first
round
of
talks
in
Doha
on
October
19,
facilitated
by
Qatar
and
Turkey.
The
discussions,
aimed
at
reducing
border
tensions
and
addressing
terrorist
activities
from
Afghan
soil,
have
seen
temporary
calm
along
the
frontier.

Trump’s
Global
Peace
Push

Trump,
highlighting
his
past
record,
said
his
approach
to
ending
wars
was
“nice
and
effective,”
adding,
“If
I
can
take
time
and
save
millions
of
lives,
that’s
really
a
great
thing.”

At
the
Gaza
Peace
Summit
in
Egypt,
Shehbaz
Sharif
had
also
hailed
Trump
as
a
“man
of
peace”
and
even
suggested
his
nomination
for
a
Nobel
Peace
Prize
for
“stopping
a
war
between
India
and
Pakistan.”
Trump,
smiling
at
the
praise,
replied
that
Sharif’s
words
were
“beautiful”
and
“left
nothing
more
to
say.”

Strategic
Implications

Trump’s
renewed
engagement
with
Pakistani
leadership
and
his
self-declared
intent
to
mediate
South
Asian
conflicts
mark
a
notable
shift
from
Washington’s
traditionally
cautious
approach.
The
remarks
are
seen
as
playing
to
Islamabad’s
narrative
while
potentially
irritating
New
Delhi,
which
remains
wary
of
any
external
involvement
in
regional
matters.