"The issue of trade or tariff did not come up in any of those discussions," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a weekly briefing. “The external affairs minister has also made it clear that the cessation of firing was decided upon in direct contacts between the DGMOs of India and Pakistan.

The ceasefire between India and Pakistan earlier this month was only achieved after US President Donald Trump offered the two countries trading access, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a legal submission defending the White House’s tariff policy.

Pictures of Modi in an Indian Air Force fighter pilot uniform are all over the country, as the BJP works overtime to project him as the dynamic leader who delivered “victory.”