'Can’t sustain friendship with Musk and…': Omar Abdullah's witty answer to Kapil Sibal on Donald Trump's mediation claim
Omar Abdullah humorously critiques Donald Trump's claims of mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire, drawing parallels with Trump's unstable friendship with Elon Musk. His comments highlight skepticism about third-party mediation in complex geopolitical issues.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has remarked that if US President Trump couldn't sustain a friendship with his friend (Elon Musk), it's unrealistic to expect him to deal fairly with India.
Abdullah was referring to Trump's repeated assertions that he played a key role in mediating the India-Pakistan ceasefire understanding after four days of military actions last month in the aftermath of 22 April Pahalgam terror attack.
“They (Pakistan) faced huge losses (in Operation Sindoor). That is why they requested our DGMO to stop it,” Omar said while speaking with Kapil Sibal in the former union minister's #DilSeWithKapilSibal YouTube programme.
Sibal responded, saying that he would ask questions about Trump Sahab's mediation claims in the Parliament. Sibal, a former Union Minister, is a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament.
Omar continued and said, “Trump Sahab jo apne doston ke saath dosti nahi nibhata, who humare saath kya nibhayega (Mr Trump who couldn't sustain a friendship with his friend (Elon Musk), it's unrealistic to expect him to deal fairly with India).”
The Chief Minister was perhaps referring to the recent public feud between Tesla chief Elon Musk and Donald Trump over TV interviews and X posts after Musk left his government role and criticised the Republican party's new tax bill proposal.
On 11 June, however, Billionaire Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X, expressing regret about some of his posts about President Trump.
Donald Trump's Mediation Claims
As many as 26 people were killed and several others injured in the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on 22 April. Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan retaliated, targeting civilian areas. The two countries, however, decided to halt military actions on 10 May.
At 5.25 PM on 10 May, Trump said India and Pakistan have agreed to a ‘full and immediate’ ceasefire following a ‘long night of talks’ mediated by the United States. Minutes later, the ceasefire was confirmed by both India's Ministry of External Affairs and the foreign ministry in Pakistan.
India has, however, contradicted Trump's claim and said that the two nations' ‘understanding’ was reached after talks between the Director Generals of Military Operations(DGMOs) of India and Pakistan.
In his subsequent posts, Trump also proposed the prospect of enhanced trade relations with both India and Pakistan, ostensibly leveraging his ongoing global trade negotiations to assert a degree of influence over the complex dynamics between the two South Asian nations.
This sparked a political row in India with the Congress demanding answers on whether the government had accepted third-party mediation on Kashmir after the US made announcements on behalf of India and Pakistan.