Web Desk; US President Donald Trump said that eight aircraft were shot down during the May 2025 military confrontation between Pakistan and India, recalling his administration’s role in mediating peace between the two nuclear-armed nations.
Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami on Wednesday, Trump said reports in several newspapers mentioned that “seven or eight planes” were downed during the conflict, adding, “I won’t name any newspaper here — most of them publish false news — but yes, eight planes were shot down.”
Earlier this year, Pakistan and India had engaged in their most intense military confrontation in decades following a terrorist attack on foreign tourists in Pahalgam, in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). New Delhi accused Islamabad of backing the attackers — an allegation Pakistan categorically denied, offering to participate in a neutral international investigation.
During the clashes, Pakistan shot down seven Indian fighter jets, including three Rafale aircraft, and multiple drones. After 87 hours of hostilities, the conflict ended on May 10 with a US-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Trump recalled that while his administration was negotiating a trade deal with both Pakistan and India, he received reports that the two neighbours were “going to war.” He said he decided to suspend all trade talks, declaring, “We will not make any deal with countries that are at war.”
He added, “Then I got a call saying, ‘We need peace.’ They stopped. I said, ‘Thank you. Now let’s trade.’ Isn’t that great?”
This was Trump’s 57th public reference to the May conflict, with his figures about the number of downed planes increasing over time — from six to seven, and now to eight. Last month, Trump had claimed that “seven brand-new and beautiful Indian planes were shot down” during the war, again highlighting the heavy losses suffered by New Delhi.
The US president has repeatedly taken credit for brokering the ceasefire, claiming he “single-handedly prevented a nuclear confrontation between Pakistan and India.”
