India-Pak Tensions Revisited: Trump Highlights 11 Expensive Jets Shot Down

United States President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he helped avert a military conflict between India and Pakistan last May, now adding that up to 11 “very expensive” fighter jets were reportedly shot down during the hostilities.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the US-led Gaza Board of Peace, Trump said he threatened both countries with steep trade penalties. “I said, if you fight, I am going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries. They both wanted to fight. But when it came to losing a lot of money, they backed down,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for defusing tensions after India launched Operation Sindoor against Pakistan’s terror infrastructure in response to the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 civilians in April last year. He described the confrontation as having escalated to aerial combat, with multiple aircraft lost. “That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. 11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets. I got on the phone with both of them… and suddenly we worked out a deal,” he said. He added that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif publicly credited him with saving “25 million lives” by intervening at the critical moment.

Trump portrayed economic leverage and personal diplomacy as key factors in ending the standoff.

India, however, has firmly rejected these claims. The Ministry of External Affairs stated that no third-party intervention took place and that the decision to de-escalate was made at the DGMO level by both countries.