Continuing to comment on the brief military conflict between Pakistan and India earlier this year, US President Donald Trump has stated that eight planes were “essentially” shot down.
“In eight months I ended eight wars, including Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda … Pakistan and India,” he said during a speech at the American Business Forum in Miami late on Wednesday.
“I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them. And then I read on the front page of a certain newspaper — I won’t mention the newspaper cause it’s usually fake news — but I heard they are going to war. Eight planes, seven planes were shot down — an eighth was really badly wounded [sic]. But eight planes were shot down essentially,” he said.
He reiterated his previous claims that he threatened against making trade deals unless the two countries agreed to peace.
“I’m not trading with you, we are not making any deals with you if you are at war with each other,” he said.
“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.”
The US president has previously stated on several occasions stated that five to seven planes were shot down during the May conflict between the two neighbouring countries. He had also reiterated words of praise for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asum Munir, both of whom he met in Washington in September. Just last month, he had said that seven “brand-new, beautiful planes were shot down” during the brief military escalation between Pakistan and India.
India has differed with Trump’s claims that the ceasefire between the two countries resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks.
The May conflict between Pakistan and India was sparked by an attack on Hindu tourists in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, said was backed by Pakistan. Pakistan has denied involvement, with the foreign ministry having questioned the credibility of India’s account of the events, saying it was “replete with fabrications”.
Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones during the four-day conflict, killing dozens of people. After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took American intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. In the immediate aftermath of the conflict, Pakistan said it took down six Indian fighter jets during the conflict, including the French-made Rafale. New Delhi acknowledged “some losses” during the conflict but denied losing six jets.
Months later in September, PM Shehbaz — during a United Nations General Assembly speech — said that the Pakistan Air Force turned “seven of the Indian jets” into scrap and dust. Later, Trump also described how he confronted both nations during a conflict that saw “seven aircraft shot down”.
