5 jets were shot down during India-Pakistan military clashes, says Donald Trump
5 jets were shot down during India-Pakistan military clashes, says Donald Trump
M.U.H
19/07/202539
Washington DC: US President Donald Trump claimed five fighter jets were shot down during the India-Pakistan military clashes that took place in May.
“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,” said Trump on Friday speaking at a gathering of top Republican party lawmakers.
Trump’s remark comes amid a simmering controversy over the exact fighter jet losses suffered by the Indian Air Force in May. To be sure, New Delhi has not officially acknowledged the number of aircraft lost during hostilities with Pakistan.
However, senior officials have made public statements that were seen to confirm some losses.
“What is important is not the jet being down, but why they were being downed,” said Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan in an interview in May when asked about Indian fighter jet losses during Operation Sindoor. Chauhan acknowledged that tactical mistakes had been made, which the Indian military learnt from to improve subsequent operations.
Later in June, India’s defence attache to Indonesia stated in a presentation at a seminar that India lost some aircraft during the initial phase of Operation Sindoor. The officer added that constraints imposed by the political leadership to target only terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan were a key factor behind the losses.
In the absence of an official confirmation of these claims, India’s opposition parties have called for greater transparency on the issue of fighter jet losses during Operation Sindoor.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi urged more transparency from the government after Trump’s claim that five fighter jets were downed.
“Mr. Modi, what is the truth about the 5 fighter jets? The nation has the right to know,” Gandhi said in a post on X, with an attached video of Trump’s remarks.
Previously, the Congress party had called on the government to convene a special session of Parliament on the matter. Party chief Mallikarjun Kharge called for a “comprehensive strategic review” and accused the government of misleading the nation.
This controversy comes just as Parliament is set to begin for the Monsoon session, starting on July 21.
On Friday, Donald Trump also repeated his claim that Washington used trade inducements to push India and Pakistan towards a ceasefire.
“But India and Pakistan were going at it, and they were back and forth, and it was getting bigger and bigger, and 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, both very powerful nuclear states,” Trump said.
New Delhi has strenuously denied Trump’s version of events, with the matter coming up during a phone call between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in June.
“Prime Minister Modi clearly conveyed to President Trump that at no point during this entire sequence of events was there any discussion, at any level, on an India-U.S. Trade Deal, or any proposal for a mediation by the U.S. between India and Pakistan,” according to a readout released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
