Washington (TDI): During a private dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House on Friday, US President Donald Trump shared his belief that as many as five aircrafts were shot down during the recent surge in hostilities between India and Pakistan.
The skirmishes followed a deadly militant attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir this past April.
“Planes were actually being brought down. Four or five… I think five jets went down,” Trump reportedly said, offering no further clarification or evidence for the claim.
The confrontation between the two South Asian nuclear powers intensified after the April assault, which claimed 26 lives.
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India was quick to blame Pakistan for the attack, an accusation Islamabad has strongly denied, calling instead for an impartial international inquiry.
Tensions came to a head on May 7, when Indian warplanes launched strikes inside Pakistani territory.What followed was a rapid escalation: fighter jet duels, missile exchanges, drone operations, and artillery shelling, resulting in dozens of casualties over a matter of days.
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Pakistan later announced that its air force had downed six Indian jets in retaliation.
Trump has publicly taken credit for brokering the ceasefire, which he announced via social media on May 10. According to him, US diplomatic efforts with both capitals were key in calming the crisis.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
