In another shocking statement regarding the battles between India and Pakistan from May 7–10, US President Donald Trump asserted that he knew the number of fighter planes that were shot down. Although he did not specify the number of jets lost on either side, POTUS 47 stated that he believes five fighter aircraft were taken down in the gunfight.
Responding to the Pahalgam terrorist attack that killed 26 civilians on April 22, India targeted several terrorist infrastructures in Pak-occupied Kashmir and mainland Pakistan with missiles and targeted air strikes. New Delhi called it ‘Operation Sindoor’ and claimed that India had attacked civilian targets; Pakistan denounced the expedition.
The crisis quickly escalated as Pakistan responded by launching missiles and drones at military and civilian targets in the Indian border states. After the DGMOs of both nations called a hotline, the tit-for-tat reaction persisted until a truce was agreed upon on May 10.
India disclosed proof of striking terrorist installations in the first phase of the conflict before subsequently hitting Pakistani air bases, while Pakistan claimed to have shot down India’s Rafale jets during the fighting.
During a meal at the White House with certain Republican lawmakers, Donald Trump allegedly brought up the downing of fighter jets. Trump stated that these were fighter jets in the air and not those based at any of the airbases hit as tensions increased, but he did not provide any other information. “You had Pakistan and India, and that was going on. In fact, four or five planes were being shot out of the sky. However, I believe that five jets were shot down. Wasn’t that getting worse and worse? … He stated, “These are two serious nuclear countries, and they were hitting each other, so it looked like it was going to go.” Trump reportedly told the lawmakers.
Pakistan said its pilots engaged in air-to-air battle and took down five Indian jets involved in the first strikes. Following assessments of the initial strike that resulted in some casualties, India subsequently stated that its soldiers successfully changed tactics and gained an edge prior to the implementation of a truce. While Islamabad denied losing any planes but acknowledged that Indian strikes had damaged its air bases, India also claimed to have shot down “a few planes” of Pakistan without providing a specific number.
Trump has said many times since May 10 that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan. He also warned the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a “lot of trade” with them if they stopped fighting.
