ibn sultan
SRINAGAR: In a tweet that quickly drew attention across international diplomatic circles, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday claimed a Kashmiri waiter in Doha thanked former President Donald Trump for helping to resolve the current India–Pakistan conflict.Leavitt, who is accompanying Trump on his Middle East visit, posted: “This morning at breakfast in Doha, my waiter told me to thank President Trump for him. I asked him why. He told me he is from Kashmir, and he has been unable to return home in recent weeks due to the India-Pakistan conflict. But he was just notified that he’s now able to return, thanks to the ceasefire mediated by President Trump, @VP & @SecRubio.”She added that the waiter believed Trump was “not receiving enough credit for literally preventing a nuclear war.”The tweet also praised the ongoing Trump-led diplomacy in the region, calling it a “historic trip” and a “significant turn in US foreign policy,” declaring that “peace, through strength, is being restored.”Though the White House did not immediately release further details about the ceasefire or the nature of Trump’s direct involvement in negotiations between India and Pakistan, the claim is likely to spark debate among observers of South Asian geopolitics. Unlike Islamabad, New Delhi has not publicly acknowledged US mediation in the latest tensions.India and Pakistan have witnessed serious skirmishes and military build-up early this month in wake of Pahalgam massacre of 26 tourists. IAF hit nine spots, which it said, were the part of wider Pakistani terror infrastructure. The attack raised fears of a full scale war but the two DMGOs talked and started a ceasefire process.Karoline Leavitt’s anecdote appears to underscore the Trump administration’s intention to spotlight its global peacemaking efforts during what the former president has described as “America’s return to leadership.”Hindustan Times reported that Leavitt’s post sparked a flurry of reactions with many questioning the veracity of the claim and pointing out that no recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan has been publicly attributed to US mediation.“So white House press secretary is easily available for a chit chat with a waiter! That’s some level of accessibility,” an X user with the handle @QuantumJuris said.“White lies. A cooked-up story,” another user, Gaurav, said.“This is a joke, right?” Indian user Mohan Sinha said.
