By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he ended a perilous four-day war this spring between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, in which seven warplanes were shot down, by threatening to slap 250 percent tariffs on exports from both countries unless they halted the fighting within 48 hours.
The extraordinary account, delivered with Trump’s signature flair at a luncheon during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit Gyeongju, South Korea, cast the Republican president as a master dealmaker who leveraged America’s economic might to avert catastrophe. “I said I was going to put 250 percent tariffs on each country, which means that you’ll never do business … within 48 hours, we had no war, no people killed,” Trump told the audience, crediting the blunt ultimatum for compelling Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan — along with Pakistan’s top military leader, Field Marshal Asim Munir — to stand down.
The May conflict erupted after an attack in occupied Kashmir. New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the assault, though without offering evidence. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called India’s narrative “replete with fabrications” and denied involvement. What followed was a furious barrage: fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones that killed dozens before a ceasefire took hold. Pakistan claimed it downed six Indian jets, including French-made Rafales; India conceded “some losses” but not that number.
In a September speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Sharif said Pakistan’s Air Force had turned “seven of the Indian jets” into “scrap and dust.” Trump’s tally matched that figure. “And so I know them all,” Trump said of the leaders. “I’m reading that seven planes were shot down, they’re going at it and they’re really starting to go, and it’s a big thing. These are two nuclear nations and they’re really going at it.”
He recounted phoning Modi first. “I called Modi and said: ‘We can’t make a trade deal with you.’ ‘No, no, we must make a trade deal.’ I said, ‘No we can’t. You’re starting a war with Pakistan, we’re not gonna do it.’” Pakistan’s side pushed back similarly, Trump said. “I said, ‘We’re not gonna do trade with you because you’re fighting with India.’ And they said, ‘No no no … you should let us fight.’ They both said that. You know, they’re warring. They’re strong people.”
Trump paused to praise the principals. “I’m doing a trade deal with India and I have great respect and love as you know for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as you know. We have a great relationship,” he said. “Likewise, the prime minister of Pakistan is a great guy, and the Field Marshal, they have a Field Marshal. You know why he’s a Field Marshal? He’s a great fighter. He really is. He’s a great guy too.” For emphasis, he called Modi “the nicest looking guy,” then mimicked the Indian leader’s steely resolve. “He’s a killer” and “tough as hell.”
The de-escalation was swift, Trump insisted. “But after a while, and they’re good people, and after literally two days, they called up and they said, ‘We understand.’ And they stopped fighting. How is that? Isn’t that amazing?”
He framed it as simple improvisation amid high-stakes talks. “We’re doing deals. So you add an extra sentence and you say, ‘You have to stop shooting at each other.’ Seven planes were shot down … and they stopped the war.”
This marked the second time this month Trump has hailed Sharif and Field Marshal Munir, his self-described “favourite”, for diplomatic feats. Earlier, he thanked them for aiding a Gaza truce and dubbed both “great people,” while offering to broker peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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