All eyes were set on US President Donald Trump when he landed in India on Monday demonstrating the growing closeness between the two largest democracies in the world. As the POTUS along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a mammoth crowd at the newly built Motera cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, Pakistani media outlets chose to highlight the part where Trump talked about his country's "good relations" with Pakistan.
Good relations: Pak media highlights from Trump's speech in India
Quoting Trump's statement on US-Pakistan relations, Dawn, a leading Pakistani daily, ran a front-page headline saying, "Trump praises Pakistan in India." Another media house, The News International, published a detailed report on Trump's India visit with the headline, "Trump tells India ties with Pakistan are very good."
The report further stated, "US President Donald Trump on Monday announced to the shock of over 100,000 people packed into the world's largest Motera Cricket Stadium in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state that his administration had very good ties with Pakistan."
In his speech during the mega Namaste Trump event, the American President said, "Our relationship with Pakistan is a very good one. Thanks to these efforts, we are beginning to see signs of big progress with Pakistan. And we are hopeful for reduced tensions, greater stability, and the future of harmony for all of the nations of South Asia."
However, the Pakistani media very conveniently left out the part where Trump spoke about the crackdown on terror groups in Pakistan. Stating Islamic terrorism as the common enemy of America and India, Trump said, "The United States and India are committed to working together to stop terrorists and to fight their ideology. For this reason, since taking office, my administration is working in a very positive way with Pakistan to crack down on the terrorist organizations and militants that operate on the Pakistani border."
What other Pakistani news outlets said
Most of the mainstream Pakistani news outlets such as The Express Tribune, Geo News, The News and Daily Times did not have any mention of Trump's remarks on the existence of terrorism on Pakistan's soil in their respective pieces. Instead, almost all the leading news websites and dailies ran full reports revolving around his "US has a very good relationship with Pakistan" remark.
Trump landed in India amid massive fanfare
Trump received a glorious welcome by PM Modi on his arrival in Ahmedabad yesterday. He was accompanied by his wife and First Lady Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Currently, in the second leg of his two-day India visit, Trump is all set to hold business talks with PM Modi at the Hyderabad House as India and the US are eyeing a $3 billion defence deal.