FLORIDA: Continuing to comment on the brief military conflict between Pakistan and India earlier this year, US President Donald Trump has now stated that eight planes were “essentially” shot down.

“In eight months I ended eight wars, including Kosovo and Serbia, the Congo and Rwanda … Pakistan and India,” he said during a speech at the American Business Forum in Miami late on Wednesday.

“I was in the midst of a trade deal with both of them. And then I read on the front page of a certain newspaper — I won’t mention the newspaper because it’s usually fake news — but I heard they are going to war. Eight planes, seven planes were shot down — an eighth was really badly wounded [sic]. But eight planes were shot down essentially,” he said.

He reiterated his previous claims that he threatened not to make trade deals unless the two countries agreed to peace.

“I’m not trading with you; we are not making any deals with you if you are at war with each other,” he said.

“A day later, I get a call, ‘We made peace’. They stopped. I said, ‘Thank you, let’s trade’. Isn’t that great? Tariffs did that. Without tariffs that would have never happened.”

The US president has previously stated on several occasions that five to seven planes were shot down during the May conflict between the two countries.

He had also reiterated his praise for PM Shehbaz Sharif and COAS Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Just last month, he had said that seven “brand-new, beautiful planes were shot down” during the brief military escalation between Pakistan and India.

India has differed with Trump’s claims that the ceasefire between the two countries resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2025