Islamabad, July 19, 2025: US President Donald Trump has claimed that up to five military jets were shot down during the recent conflict between India and Pakistan earlier this year.
Speaking at a dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House, Trump said, “In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually.” He did not mention which side lost the aircraft.
The conflict began after India blamed Pakistan for the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan strongly denied the accusations. In response, Pakistan’s Air Force launched air strikes and claimed to have shot downed five Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales.
India has not officially confirmed this, but when questioned in June about the losses, Indian Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan replied, “What is important is why they went down,” indirectly confirming some losses.
A ceasefire deal was made on May 10 and Trump has since said he played a key role in de-escalating the situation. He claimed that US pressure, especially using trade talks, helped bring both sides to agree to peace. “We told them – no trade deals if you’re throwing weapons or talking nuclear,” Trump said.
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India, however, denied any third-party involvement, saying the ceasefire happened through direct talks with Pakistan.
Trump, speaking proudly, said, “Something I’m very proud of, we stopped a lot of wars, a lot of wars. And these were serious wars.” He also stated that his administration did more in six months than others could in eight years.
On June 18, Trump hosted Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir at the White House for a lunch meeting. He later said that his administration wanted peace in South Asia and hoped for future trade with both countries.
