US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his claims of stopping a war between India and Pakistan. In a recent interview, Trump went to the extent of insinuating that the conflict could have escalated into the use of nuclear weapons.
“It was getting deeper and more, I mean, more missiles, everyone was ‘stronger, stronger’, so to a point where the next one's going to be, you know what? The N word," Trump claimed in an interview to Fox News.
"The N-word, that’s a very nasty word, right? In a lot of ways. The N word used in a nuclear sense, that's the worst thing that can happen. And I think they were very close," the US President added, claiming that this was a "bigger success than he will "ever get credit for".
"Those are major nuclear powers and they were angry.”
Neither India nor Pakistan has claimed publicly that the conflict between the two countries following the 22 April Pahalgam attack, could assume a nuclear dimension. On the contrary, both sides have been claiming that they were acting with restraint.
The only mention of the nuclear factor was during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation that India won't give in to "nuclear blackmail".
In this context, it is important to look at the differences between the nuclear policies and arsenal of India and Pakistan.
India’s No First Use policy sharply contrasts with Pakistan's full-spectrum deterrence, which includes tactical nuclear weapons for battlefield use, increasing the risk of escalation.