US President Donald Trump on Friday claimed that “five jets were shot down” during the recent India-Pakistan military conflict, without clarifying which side suffered the losses.
Donald Trump made the statement while highlighting his administration’s role in defusing what he described as a near-war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
There has been no official confirmation or evidence supporting Trump’s specific claim regarding the downing of five aircraft.
“We stopped a lot of wars. And these were serious, India and Pakistan, that was going on. Planes were being shot out of there. I think five jets were shot down, actually. These are two serious nuclear countries, and they were hitting each other. You know, it seems like a new form of warfare,” Donald Trump said at a dinner with some Republican US lawmakers at the White House.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington held talks with both sides. India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks.
{{/usCountry}}Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington held talks with both sides. India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks.
{{/usCountry}}India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their problems directly and with no outside involvement.
Trump also again attributed the trade deal for the India-Pakistan ceasefire understanding, a claim India has categorically pushed back against.
"But India and Pakistan were going at it, and they were back and forth, and it was getting bigger and bigger, and we got it solved through trade. We said, you guys want to make a trade deal. We're not making a trade deal if you're going to be throwing around weapons, and maybe nuclear weapons, both very powerful nuclear states," Donald Trump said.
Donald Trump also cited the recent Israel-Iran war, which was halted after a US-brokered ceasefire following 12 days of intense drone and missile exchange.
“You saw it recently when you looked at what we did in Iran, where we knocked out their nuclear capability, totally knocked out that...,” Trump added.
India attacked terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan on May 7 under Operation Sindoor in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack, triggering four days of intense strikes and counter-strikes by the two sides using drones, missiles and other long-range weapons that raised fears of an all-out war.
India has maintained that the decision to halt firing and military actions was worked out between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan during their phone call on May 10.