'Shehbaz thanked me for saving 30 million lives': Trump reiterates he ended India-Pakistan war

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his claim that he helped prevent a wider war between India and Pakistan during their military conflict in May 2025, saying Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had thanked him for saving 30 million lives.

Speaking at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, Trump described Sharif as a "terrific man" and said the Pakistani prime minister had credited him with preventing a potentially much larger conflict.

"The Prime Minister of Pakistan, a terrific man, said that Donald Trump was responsible for saving 30 million lives, and probably many more than that," Trump said during his address.

Trump repeats claim of ending India-Pakistan conflict

Trump has repeatedly claimed that his intervention helped bring an end to the four-day military escalation between India and Pakistan in May 2025.

According to Trump, he spoke to leaders on both sides and used the prospect of trade restrictions to push them towards a ceasefire. He has previously said that the conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbours could have escalated significantly if fighting had continued.

The May 2025 confrontation followed the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. India and Pakistan subsequently exchanged military strikes before announcing a ceasefire on May 10.

Pakistan PM had praised Trump

Sharif publicly praised Trump during his September 2025 meeting with the US president at the White House. According to Pakistan's official account of the meeting, Sharif described Trump as a "man of peace" and credited his leadership with facilitating the India-Pakistan ceasefire and helping avert what Pakistan described as a major catastrophe in South Asia.

Trump has since repeatedly referred to the episode when discussing his diplomatic record.

India has rejected US mediation claim

India has consistently maintained that the cessation of military action was reached directly between the Indian and Pakistani militaries and has rejected the suggestion that a third country mediated the ceasefire.

Trump's latest remarks therefore come amid differing accounts of the circumstances that led to the May 2025 ceasefire.

The US president has continued to cite the India-Pakistan episode as one of several conflicts he says his administration helped bring to an end. At the UN, he again presented the episode as an example of his efforts to prevent wider international conflicts.

Meanwhile, Sharif is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on September 25, where Pakistan plans to outline its position on regional security, diplomacy and conflict resolution.