"8 Planes Shot Down": Trump Updates Key Figure In India-Pak Peace Claim

US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim of brokering peace between India and Pakistan, revising his count of fighter jets downed during the combat from seven to eight. The two nuclear-armed nations "made peace" in May only after he threatened to cancel their trade deals, he said, reiterating his wild claim at the America Business Forum in Miami yesterday.

The India-Pakistan episode was among the eight conflicts that the President claimed to have stopped since taking office, besides Kosovo-Serbia and Congo-Rwanda, as he tried again to portray himself as a global peacemaker.

"I was in the midst of a trade deal with India and Pakistan, and then I read on the front page of a certain newspaper...I heard they were going to war. Seven planes were shot down, and the eighth was badly wounded. Eight planes were shot down essentially. I said, this is war, and they are going at it. They are two nuclear nations. I said, 'I'm not going to make any trade deals with you guys unless you agree to peace,'" said Trump.

The President claimed Delhi and Islamabad opposed such a threat and said their conflict had nothing to do with trade deals

"The two nations said 'No way. This has nothing to do...' I said, 'It has everything to do. You are nuclear powers. I'm not trading with you. We're not making any deals with you if you're at war with each other'," he said, adding that he got a call the next day that the two countries had made peace. "I said, 'Thank you. Let's do trade'. Isn't that great? Without tariffs, that would have never happened," said Trump as the crowd cheered for him.

India denied the US President's claim and said a ceasefire was achieved on May 10 after Pakistani commanders pleaded with their Indian counterparts to stop the offensive.

That, however, didn't deter Trump from repeating his claim. He has been repeating his claim since May that India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire after a "long night" of talks mediated by the US. Reports suggest he has repeated his India-Pakistan claim at least 60 times, while India has consistently denied any intervention by Washington.

India struck terror camps deep inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7, as part of Operation Sindoor, to avenge the cold-blooded murder of 26 civilians by the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in J&K's Pahalgam. The hostilities ended after four days of cross-border firing and missile strikes, with Pakistan seeking a ceasefire.