Trump Claims ‘Five Jets’ Shot Down During India-Pakistan Conflict
Pakistan had claimed that it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat after India launched Operation Sindoor. Indian defence brass have admitted 'losses' but not the extent of it.
Former US President Donald Trump has once again asserted that his intervention, particularly through the use of trade leverage, was instrumental in halting what he describes as a near-war between India and Pakistan earlier this year. In what is reportedly the 24th repetition of this narrative, Trump also introduced a new detail — that five fighter jets were shot down during the hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
Addressing supporters during a rally on July 18, Trump declared: “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.”
Trump was referring to the aftermath of the deadly April 22 Pahalgam attack, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians and triggered India’s military response under Operation Sindoor, reportedly targeting militant bases across the Line of Control. While Pakistan has publicly claimed it downed five Indian aircraft during the subsequent air engagement, India has not officially acknowledged the scale of any aerial losses. However, the Indian Chief of Defence Staff and a senior defence attaché have alluded to unspecified “losses” during that phase of conflict.
The former US President reiterated his long-standing claim that his administration brought the conflict to an end by threatening to withhold progress on trade deals with both India and Pakistan. “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,” he said.
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In an earlier phone call, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly conveyed to Trump that India had never discussed either trade or third-party mediation in connection with the conflict. New Delhi has consistently rejected the notion that US pressure, particularly related to trade, played any role in the decision to de-escalate tensions.
Despite India’s public denial, Trump has continued to tout the ‘trade diplomacy’ narrative, drawing criticism from opposition leaders in India. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), remarking: “The Prime Minister, who has had years of friendship and huglomacy with President Trump going back to Howdy Modi in Sept 2019 and Namaste Trump in Feb 2020, has to now himself make a clear and categorical statement in Parliament on what President Trump has been claiming over the past 70 days.”
Trump also made unverified claims regarding Iran during the same speech, stating that the US had “totally knocked out” Iran’s nuclear capability in June – a statement that American media and military analysts have previously questioned as exaggerated or misleading.
The Indian government has so far remained silent on the latest remarks, though diplomatic circles in New Delhi are reportedly monitoring the situation closely, particularly as US elections approach and Trump ramps up public appearances.
