Trump Claims Five Jets Were Shot Down in India-Pakistan Conflict, Offers No Proof
Former U.S. President Donald Trump stirred controversy on Friday by claiming that “five jets were shot down” during the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan — without clarifying which country suffered the losses or providing any evidence to support the statement.
Trump made the remarks during a dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House, while discussing his administration’s role in easing tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. He portrayed the situation as dangerously close to war.
“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. You know, it seems like a new form of warfare,” Trump said.
There has been no official confirmation from either India or Pakistan to back Trump’s claim of five jets being downed. Both countries have issued limited information about losses during the recent flare-up, and neither side has verified any such figure publicly.
Trump has repeatedly taken credit for helping de-escalate the India-Pakistan conflict earlier this year, claiming a ceasefire was achieved through U.S. intervention. He announced the de-escalation on social media on May 10, suggesting Washington’s diplomatic pressure had forced both sides to pull back.
However, India has consistently denied this version of events, asserting that the decision to halt military actions was made bilaterally — during a scheduled call between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan — without external mediation.
Trump also connected the ceasefire to trade negotiations, claiming the U.S. used trade leverage to bring about peace. “We got it solved through trade. 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.
India has strongly rejected this narrative as well, reiterating that it does not accept third-party involvement in matters related to Pakistan and that trade talks with the U.S. were unrelated to the military situation.
Trump also referenced the recent conflict between Israel and Iran, boasting that his administration had “totally knocked out” Iran’s nuclear capability — another unverified claim — while highlighting a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that ended 12 days of hostilities.
While Trump continues to link global peace breakthroughs to his foreign policy strategy, many of his claims — including those involving India and Pakistan — remain unverified or disputed by the countries involved.
