Pakistan will “forever remain grateful” to U.S. President Donald Trump for his “timely” intervention in helping secure a ceasefire with India, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said.

Addressing a reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad on Thursday (June 4, 2026) to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, Mr. Sharif described Pakistan-U.S. ties as a “true and special relationship” spanning nearly eight decades.

Referring to the four-day military conflict between India and Pakistan last year, triggered by the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam that killed 26 people, the Prime Minister said Mr. Trump’s intervention played a key role in ending hostilities.

“Last year, following India’s unprovoked aggression after the Pahalgam incident, it was President Trump’s timely and most decisive intervention that resulted in a ceasefire between Pakistan and India on May 10, last year,” he claimed.

“We shall forever remain grateful to President Trump for restoring peace in South Asia and saving millions of people. In this context, he will always be remembered as a man of peace,” Mr. Sharif said.

Following the Pahalgam attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 last year, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

More praise for Trump

Mr. Trump has repeatedly claimed that he helped secure peace between India and Pakistan following the military conflict. India, however, has consistently maintained that the understanding was reached directly between the two countries and has rejected claims of third-party mediation.

Mr. Sharif also lauded Mr. Trump’s “unique” leadership style, saying the U.S. president had brought “energy and resolve” to Washington’s international engagement and pursuit of its interests.

Under his “bold and visionary leadership”, the U.S. “continues to inspire confidence and dynamism, while advancing peace, progress and prosperity”, the prime minister said.

Recalling the history of bilateral ties, Mr. Sharif noted that the U.S. was among the first countries to recognise Pakistan after its creation in 1947, and highlighted cooperation in security, trade, investment, agriculture, science, education, health and energy.

“Ours is a true and special relationship, spanning over nearly eight decades and encompassing cooperation not only in security and counter-terrorism, but equally so in trade, investment, agriculture, science, education, health, energy and people-to-people exchanges,” he said.

Role in Iran-U.S. talks

On regional diplomacy, Mr. Sharif claimed that Pakistan was playing a role in facilitating contacts between the U.S. and Iran and thanked Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir for his contribution to ongoing peace efforts.

“As I speak, these efforts continue with the support of Iran and the United States, and let us pray that we achieve long-lasting peace as early as possible,” he said.

In her remarks, U.S. Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker described Pakistan and the U.S. as “true strategic partners” and said the relationship was based on mutual respect, aligned interests and a shared vision for security and prosperity.

She said Mr. Trump’s approach towards Pakistan had been “direct, personal and consequential”, focused on delivering results, managing crises and seizing opportunities.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (August 14, 2025) again repeated his claim that he solved the conflict between India and Pakistan and said that the war could have turned nuclear.

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“If you look at Pakistan and India… planes were being knocked out of the air. Six or seven planes came down. They were ready to go, maybe nuclear. We solved that,” Mr. Trump said during remarks in the Oval Office.

The U.S. President’s comments come on the eve of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday as he tries to bring an end to the Ukraine war.

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Trump said he had thought the Russia-Ukraine war would have been the “easiest one” to end but “it’s actually the most difficult”.

“I think that President Putin would like to see a deal. I think if I weren’t president, he would take over all of Ukraine. It’s a war that should have never happened. If I weren’t president, in my opinion, he would much rather take over all of Ukraine. But I am president and he’s not going to mess around with me,” Mr. Trump said.

“I think it’s going to be a good meeting,” Mr. Trump said of his upcoming meeting with Mr. Putin.

He added that “the more important meeting” will be the second meeting with Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and himself.

Mr. Trump said there may also be some European leaders for that meeting.

“We’re going to see what happens. And I think President Putin will make peace. I think President Zelenskyy will make peace. We’ll see if they can get along, and if they can, it’ll be great,” he said.

Mr. Trump went on to add that he has solved “six wars” in the last six months and he is “very proud of it”.

Since May 10, when Mr. Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire, he has repeated his claim on several occasions.

Mr. Trump has claimed that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a “lot of trade” with them if they stopped the conflict.

India has been consistently maintaining that the understanding on cessation of hostilities with Pakistan was reached following direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries.