Former U.S. President Donald Trump has once again claimed personal credit for defusing tensions between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan during a past episode of hostilities, stating that his intervention “stopped the war” and potentially prevented a nuclear escalation.
Speaking at a White House reception with members of Congress on Tuesday, Trump recounted the conflict between the South Asian neighbours, describing it as a volatile situation that required immediate action. “We stopped wars between India and Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda,” Trump told attendees. Referring to the India-Pakistan standoff, he added, “They shot down five planes and it was back and forth, back and forth. I called them and said, ‘Listen, no more trade… You’re not going to be good.’ They’re both powerful nuclear nations, and that would have happened—and who knows where that would have ended up. And I stopped it.”
Trump has made similar statements in the past, including during a meeting with Republican senators last week. He referred to a surge in hostilities that reportedly followed a militant attack in India-administered Kashmir in April of a previous year. “Planes were being shot out of the air… five jets were shot down actually,” he said, though he did not clarify which side the aircraft belonged to.
Pakistan has publicly claimed to have downed five Indian jets during that period, while India stated it had shot down multiple Pakistani planes in retaliation. However, both claims have been disputed and never independently confirmed.
Trump’s assertion that his direct involvement, including threats to suspend trade, led to a ceasefire has been a point of contention. On May 10 of that year, he publicly announced via social media that hostilities had ended following discussions facilitated by Washington. However, Indian officials have repeatedly pushed back on the notion that the de-escalation was the result of U.S. pressure or mediation.
India maintains that matters between New Delhi and Islamabad must be resolved bilaterally and without third-party involvement—a long-standing position in Indian foreign policy. At the time, India’s Ministry of External Affairs dismissed Trump’s claims of intervention, stating that diplomatic channels between the two countries had already been in use to prevent further escalation.
While Trump continues to highlight his role in international crisis management during and after his presidency, his version of events in South Asia remains disputed by official accounts from the region.
