‘Modi ‘Skips’ ASEAN Summit to Avoid Pakistan Talk with Trump’

News Desk

Kuala Lumpur: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi opted not to attend the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia in person to avoid a potential discussion on Pakistan with US President Donald Trump, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

According to the report, Modi decided to address the Kuala Lumpur gathering virtually instead of travelling, amid concerns within his government that Trump might once again claim to have mediated peace between India and Pakistan — a statement New Delhi has repeatedly denied.

“Officials were apprehensive that Trump would repeat his claim that he mediated a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, which India has consistently denied,” Bloomberg quoted sources as saying.

The Indian leader was reportedly reluctant to hold a bilateral meeting with Trump, fearing it could prove “embarrassing” ahead of state elections in Bihar. This marks the second time Modi has avoided a possible face-to-face encounter with the US president, having skipped the UN General Assembly session the previous month.

Relations between Washington and New Delhi have been strained since the Pakistan conflict five months ago. In August, the Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports, half of which was described as a penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil. Although trade talks have since been initiated, no breakthrough has been achieved.

Trump has repeatedly said his intervention earlier this year helped avert a “bad nuclear war” between Pakistan and India. “We stopped a nuclear conflict. Millions could have been killed. I’m very proud of that,” Trump told reporters at the White House following the ceasefire between the two South Asian rivals in May.

Last week, the US president reiterated that he had urged Modi to avoid war with Pakistan, saying diplomacy and trade pressure helped prevent further escalation.

The May confrontation was the most serious military standoff between India and Pakistan in decades, sparked by a terrorist attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam area. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the assault that killed 26 people — an allegation Pakistan strongly denied.

Following the incident, India carried out cross-border strikes that killed several civilians, prompting Pakistan’s military to launch “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos” in response. Pakistan’s forces reportedly downed seven Indian fighter jets, including a Rafale, and multiple drones before the ceasefire was reached on May 10 through US mediation.

Islamabad has since credited President Trump for brokering peace, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif describing him as a “genuine man of peace” who worked “relentlessly” to end conflicts, including the ongoing war in Gaza.

Trump, meanwhile, lauded Pakistan’s leadership, calling Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz “great people.”