By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday again stated that seven aircraft were shot down during the brief military escalation between Pakistan and India in May, crediting his threat to withhold trade deals for swiftly ending the hostilities and averting what he described as a potential nuclear war.
Speaking to business leaders during a dinner in Japan, Trump recounted the four-day military clash, the most intense in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours, in vivid terms. “If you look at India and Pakistan, they were going at it,” he said. “Seven brand-new, beautiful planes were shot down.”
“I said to Prime Minister Modi and I said to the Prime Minister [Shehbaz Sharif], very nice man, a very good man and the Field Marshal [Asim Munir] over in Pakistan … I said, ‘look we’re not going to do any trade if you’re going to be fighting’,” Trump continued. “We said ‘no, we’re not doing any deals if you’re going to fight’ and within 24 hours that was the end of that. It was amazing, actually.”
Trump, who has repeatedly touted his role in the ceasefire and suggested he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for it, framed trade as a singularly powerful deterrent to conflict. “I think trade is responsible for 70 percent of the fact that we didn’t have wars,” he said, adding that his tariffs on multiple countries had done “a great service to the world.”
The episode underscores a growing rift in once-close ties between Trump and Modi, strained further by American tariffs and clashing narratives over the South Asian conflict. Relations have soured since the May hostilities, with Trump imposing 50 percent tariffs on Indian exports in August — half of which he described as a penalty for New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. Trade negotiations have dragged on without resolution.
Modi’s decision to forgo an in-person appearance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this week, opting instead for a virtual address, was an 11th-hour switch aimed squarely at dodging Trump, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
Indian officials were apprehensive that Trump would reprise his insistence on having mediated the India-Pakistan ceasefire, a contention New Delhi has consistently rejected. Modi, the people said, did not want to risk an encounter that could prove embarrassing, particularly with campaigning underway for a crucial state election in Bihar set to begin next week. “Modi is the main face of his party’s campaign in Bihar state, and any comments by Trump, especially regarding Pakistan, could be used by the prime minister’s rivals against him and damage his party’s chances at the polls,” the people said.
Rahul Gandhi, a top leader in the opposition Indian National Congress, seized on Modi’s reticence in a recent social media post. “PM Modi is frightened of Trump.” Modi’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, did attend the summit and met on Monday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Rubio told reporters that American relations with Pakistan did not come at India’s expense.
The May conflict erupted after an attack in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, blamed on militants backed by Pakistan. Islamabad denied involvement, with its foreign ministry dismissing India’s account as “replete with fabrications.” Over four tense days, both sides unleashed fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones, killing dozens.
Pakistan claimed to have downed six Indian jets, including French-made Rafales. India acknowledged “some losses” but denied losing six aircraft. In the conflict’s immediate aftermath, Trump cast himself as the decisive peacemaker, a portrayal Pakistan has embraced and nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize, while India has repudiated. Trump has lavished praise on Field Marshal Munir, and Prime Minister Sharif, whom he called “great people” on Sunday.
Modi and Trump once reveled in a mutual affinity, with each stumping for the other during election campaigns. But ties unraveled after a tense 35-minute phone call in June in which they clashed over the conflict, according to Bloomberg News. They have spoken at least three times since September, including a Diwali call last week. Earlier this month, Trump said Modi had assured him that India would halt purchases of Russian oil, a claim denied by India’s External Affairs Ministry.
Modi has now skipped two regional summits where a meeting with Trump loomed as a possibility. His team saw no clear upside to a bilateral in Malaysia, one person said, and the recent call fell short of New Delhi’s expectations. Since assuming office in 2014, Modi has attended every leaders’ meeting in person except in 2022, with the 2020 and 2021 editions held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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