Trump Claims 5 Jets Shot Down in India-Pak Clash, Repeats Ceasefire Role Assertion

Trump Claims 5 Jets Shot Down in India-Pak Clash: US President Donald Trump said on Friday up to five jets were shot down during the recent India-Pakistan hostilities that began after the April terrorist attack in Kashmir, with the situation calming after the May ceasefire. Trump made the remarks at a dinner with some Republican US lawmakers at the White House and didn’t specify which side’s jets he was referring to.

“Planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually,” Trump said about the India-Pakistan hostilities without elaborating or providing further detail. Pakistan claimed it shot down five Indian planes in air-to-air combat. India’s top general said in late May that India changed tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of hostilities and gained an upper hand before the ceasefire was announced three days later.

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India has officially not confirmed the loss of aircraft but when asked by a Bloomberg correspondent in June if Pakistan was right in its claim that “six Indian jets” were downed, India’s Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan replied, “what is important is why they went down,” implying losses without specifying a number.

India also claimed it shot down “a few” Pakistani planes. Islamabad denied any loss of planes but acknowledged its air bases were hit.

Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire between India and Pakistan that he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington talked to both sides. India has differed with Trump’s claim that it was because of his intervention and his threat to end trade talks.

India’s position is that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their issues bilaterally and without any external involvement.

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India is an important US partner in Washington’s effort to counter China in Asia while Pakistan is a US ally.

The April attack in Kashmir killed 26 men and triggered heavy fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry.

New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied responsibility and called for a neutral probe.

Washington condemned the attack but didn’t blame Islamabad.

On May 7, Indian jets bombed targets across the border that New Delhi described as “terrorist infrastructure,” triggering an exchange of attacks between the two countries by fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery that killed dozens till the ceasefire was announced.

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