US President Donald Trump has said he believes up to five military aircraft were shot down during recent hostilities between India and Pakistan that erupted following a deadly attack in India-administered Kashmir in April.
Speaking at a dinner with Republican lawmakers at the White House on Friday, Trump said: "In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually."
The clashes between the nuclear-armed neighbours followed an attack in April that killed 26 people.
New Delhi blamed the incident on Pakistan-based militants, a charge Islamabad denies.
In the aftermath, Indian jets bombed what it called "terrorist infrastructure" across the border on May 7, triggering air-to-air combat, drone strikes, missile attacks, and artillery exchanges.
Pakistan has repeatedly maintained that it downed five Indian jets.
While officially India has refused to confirm the loss of aircraft but when asked by a Bloomberg correspondent in June if Pakistan was accurate in its claim that upto “six Indian jets” were downed, India’s Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan responded, “what is important is why they went down,” appearing to confirm losses without specifying a number.
India, too, has claimed that it hit Pakistan jets. While Islamabad denied losing any planes, it acknowledged damage to several air bases.
A ceasefire was reached on May 10.
Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for helping to bring about the truce, saying US pressure on both sides led to de-escalation.
However, India has publicly disagreed with that version of events, stating the ceasefire was achieved through direct communication between New Delhi and Islamabad, without third-party involvement.
