Miami (TDI): US President Donald Trump has once again commented on the brief military conflict between Pakistan and India earlier this year, this time claiming that eight planes were “essentially” shot down during the skirmish.
Speaking at the American Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Trump recalled his involvement in facilitating peace between the two nations, despite India and Pakistan’s differing narratives of the conflict.
“I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them,” Trump said, referring to his diplomatic efforts at the time. “Then I heard they were going to war. Eight planes, seven planes were shot down, an eighth was really badly wounded. But eight planes were shot down essentially.”
Trump repeated his previous assertion that he threatened to halt trade deals with both countries unless they agreed to a ceasefire, claiming this was instrumental in ending the conflict. “I’m not trading with you; we are not making any deals with you if you are at war with each other,” Trump said, adding, “A day later, I get a call, ‘We made peace’. They stopped. I said, ‘Thank you, let’s trade’. Isn’t that great? Tariffs did that. Without tariffs, that would have never happened.”
Read More: Trump Says Seven ‘Beautiful Planes’ Shot Down in Pak-India Clash
This marks another instance where Trump has presented the details of the May conflict, which was sparked by an attack on tourists in IIOJK, leading to tit-for-tat strikes between Pakistan and India. The skirmish involved airstrikes, missiles, artillery, and drones over a four-day period, causing dozens of casualties. Trump had previously claimed that five to seven planes were shot down during the conflict.
According to Pakistan’s official accounts, the Pakistan Air Force downed six Indian fighter jets, including a French-made Rafale, during the conflict. India, however, acknowledged “some losses” but denied losing the six jets that Pakistan claimed to have shot down. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a speech at the United Nations in September, stated that the Pakistan Air Force had turned “seven of the Indian jets into scrap and dust.”
Read More: Five Jets Shot Down in Pakistan-India Hostilities: Trump
Despite differing accounts of the conflict, Trump’s comments continue to draw attention, particularly his claims about his role in facilitating the peace process through trade talks. While both nations ultimately reached a ceasefire, India has consistently rejected Trump’s claims that his intervention played a significant role in ending the conflict.
