The Congress on Tuesday questioned the nature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s friendship with Donald Trump, after the US President praised Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir and offered “special” treatment to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during the Gaza peace summit held in Egypt.
“But what sort of friendship is this? President Trump hosted Field Marshal Asim Munir to an unprecedented lunch in the White House on June 18, 2025. This was the Field Marshal whose inflammatory and communally poisonous remarks provided the backdrop to the Pahalgam terror attacks orchestrated by Pakistan on April 22, 2025. Now in Egypt yesterday, President Trump calls Asim Munir as 'my favourite Field Marshal' and gives special place to the PM of Pakistan. What kind of signal is President Trump sending to India, in spite of Mr. Modi's desperate attempts to ingratiate himself with the US President?” Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.
At the same event, Trump invited Sharif to speak mid-way through his own address.
Sharif, in turn, lauded the US President, calling him “a man of peace”.
“I would say that Pakistan had nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his outstanding, extraordinary contributions, first to stop war between India and Pakistan and then achieve ceasefire along with his very wonderful team,” Sharif said, reiterating Trump’s previous claim of halting hostilities between the two neighbours in May.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also reacted to the development, posting the video of Sharif praising Trump with the caption, “Just fell short of calling him Daddy, would have completed the boot licking.”
On Monday, Congress had mocked Prime Minister Modi’s silence over Trump’s repeated assertions of brokering peace between India and Pakistan, using the “Ab Ki Bar 50 Par” jibe.
“This time – the 51st time that he has made this claim of having used tariffs to force India into the abrupt halt to Operation Sindoor – President Trump has given specific numbers on the tariff threats he reportedly made. And our PM continues to be silent while hailing him on his peace efforts in relation to Gaza,” Ramesh had remarked on X.
India has consistently dismissed Trump’s claims of mediation between the two countries.
Foreign secretary Vikram Misri had clarified that the decision to halt military operations was taken directly between the Indian and Pakistani armies, without any involvement from the United States.
