Trump repeats peace claim over India-Pakistan conflict, says five jets were downed
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Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed that five fighter jets were shot down during the India-Pakistan conflict in May, reiterating that it was American intervention that brought an end to the hostilities.
Speaking during a dinner with Republican senators at the White House on Friday (18 July), Trump said the situation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors was escalating dangerously. “Planes were being shot out of the air...four or five. But I think five jets were shot down actually,” he said, without clarifying whether the losses were on one side or both.
Trump further claimed that the U.S. helped de-escalate the conflict through trade negotiations, saying, “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 added, “we stopped a lot of wars, a lot of wars. And these were serious wars,” asserting that his administration accomplished more in six months than others could in eight years.
Since May 10, Trump has repeatedly stated that U.S. diplomacy played a key role in settling tensions between India and Pakistan.
India, however, has consistently downplayed these claims, maintaining that the de-escalation came through direct military-level talks between the two countries, with no mediation involved.
The recent conflict began after India launched Operation Sindoor on 7 May, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-controlled areas following the Pahalgam terror attack, which was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The operation triggered four days of intense cross-border clashes, which ended on 10 May with an understanding to halt military actions.
In a related development, the U.S. on Thursday designated The Resistance Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move was part of efforts to combat global terrorism.
India has welcomed the designation as it is a significant step in recognizing Pakistan-based terror proxies operating in the region.
