Trump reiterates claim of resolving Indo-Pak clashes
Washington, October 22, 2025 (Bharat Khabarnama Bureau) – The U.S. President Donald Trump has once again asserted that he single-handedly “resolved” the recent military conflict between India and Pakistan, claiming that seven aircraft were shot down amid cross-border hostilities — though he refrained from specifying which side suffered the losses.
In a televised interview with Fox News aired on Sunday, Trump said that his threat to impose punitive tariffs on both India and Pakistan compelled the two nuclear-armed neighbours to halt their confrontation.
“The threat of tariffs, as an example, kept India and Pakistan, two nuclear nations, from going at it. They were going at it. Seven planes were shot down, that’s a lot. And that could have been a nuclear war,” Trump said during the interview.
He further claimed that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally lauded him for his alleged mediation efforts. “The Prime Minister of Pakistan actually just said, ‘Donald Trump, President Trump, saved millions of lives by getting that,’” he added.
Elaborating on his supposed intervention, Trump stated that he had warned both New Delhi and Islamabad of crippling trade restrictions if they failed to de-escalate. “I told both countries, ‘We’re going to put on 200 per cent tariffs, which will make it impossible for you to deal, and we’re not going to do business with you.’ And after 24 hours, I settled the war,” he said.
Since May 10, when Trump publicly announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire following a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeatedly claimed credit for brokering peace between the two rivals.
However, India has consistently dismissed such assertions, maintaining that the cessation of hostilities was achieved through direct communications between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries — without any external mediation.
The recent hostilities began after India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 civilian lives. Following four days of intense cross-border drone and missile exchanges, India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict and restore calm along the Line of Control.
Trump’s latest remarks mark yet another addition to a series of self-attributed diplomatic victories he has repeatedly highlighted while on the campaign trail, drawing mixed reactions from international observers and policymakers alike.
