WASHINGTON - United States President Donald Trump has once again claimed credit for ending the May 2025 military conflict between Pakistan and India, asserting that his threat of tariffs forced both nations to agree to a ceasefire and that Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally thanked him for saving an estimated 30 to 50 million lives.
Speaking at a recent White House press conference, Trump repeated his familiar account of the four-day war, adding new details about the scale of destruction and his role in brokering peace . The US President claimed that 11 fighter jets were shot down during the hostilities, which he described as a potential nuclear catastrophe in the making .
Trump has consistently elevated the human stakes of the conflict in his public remarks, with the number of lives he claims to have saved growing over time. During his most recent statements, he cited Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as saying that Trump's intervention prevented the deaths of 30 to 50 million people .
In a Truth Social post earlier this month, Trump wrote: "They continuously thank me for saving 30 to 50 million lives in what would have been a horrendous war with India. I always appreciate hearing that - The amount of humanity spoken of is incomprehensible" .
The US President has also praised Pakistan's military leadership, calling Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif "very extraordinary men" .
US President Donald Trump said he settled eight wars and in every case received thank-you letters from leaders. Referring to the Pakistan-India war in May 2025, he said: "The prime minister of Pakistan said I saved from 30 to 50 million lives." He further said that 11 airplanes... pic.twitter.com/s9t6eOOOxt
- Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) April 30, 2026
Trump has steadily increased the number of aircraft he says were downed during the May 2025 conflict. Initially stating that five jets were shot down, he later raised the figure to seven, then eight, then ten, and now claims that 11 "very expensive jets" were destroyed .
"That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. 11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets," Trump said during a speech at the Board of Peace meeting in Washington .
The US President did not specify which country's aircraft were downed, though Pakistani official accounts from the time confirmed that Pakistan Air Force pilots destroyed seven Indian fighter jets, including four French-made Rafale aircraft, while suffering zero losses of their own.
Trump has repeatedly credited his threat of economic tariffs with forcing both nations to halt hostilities. Speaking at the Board of Peace meeting, he described how he used trade pressure to end the conflict .
"I said, if you fight, I'm going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries," Trump told the gathering. "They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, 'I guess we don't want to fight'" .
Trump explained that he was in the midst of negotiating trade deals with both nations when he learned of the escalating conflict. "I read on the front page of a certain newspaper... I heard they were going to war," he recalled. He then informed both leaders that no trade agreements would move forward unless peace was restored .
According to Trump, the threat worked within days. "A day later, I get a call saying, 'We made peace'. They stopped. I said, 'Thank you. Let's do trade'. Isn't that great? Tariffs did that... Without tariffs, that would have never happened" .
While Trump has focused on his own mediation role, official accounts from May 2025 confirm an important detail: India requested a cessation of hostilities after suffering significant losses from Pakistani counterstrikes.
The four-day war began on May 7, 2025, when India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting what it claimed were terrorist infrastructure sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir following the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians .
Pakistan responded forcefully. According to official Pakistani military statements, the Pakistan Air Force shot down multiple Indian aircraft, including Rafale fighters, while the Army launched Operation Bunyanum Marsoos, destroying 26 Indian military installations including missile storage facilities, airbases, and other strategic targets .
Indian missiles struck civilian areas in Pakistani Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, destroying several mosques and martyring dozens of innocent civilians, including women, children, and the elderly .
By May 9, Indian missiles had also targeted multiple Pakistani airbases. Pakistan's counterstrikes hit the Pathankot Airfield and Udhampur Air Force Station, among other locations, while Fatah-1 missiles were launched at Indian airbases .
On May 10, 2025, US President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that after "a long night of talks mediated by the United States," India and Pakistan had agreed to a "FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE" .
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar confirmed the development, followed by India's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, who stated that a senior Pakistani military official had called his Indian counterpart and both sides agreed to halt all military action effective 5:00 PM IST .
While Trump continues to claim that his tariff threats and mediation were decisive, India has consistently maintained that no third-party intervention was involved. Indian officials have stated that the ceasefire resulted from direct discussions between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two militaries .
Pakistan, while acknowledging the US role in facilitating the ceasefire, has emphasized that its military's successful defense against Indian aggression created the conditions for peace. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has publicly thanked Trump for his efforts while also praising the Pakistan Armed Forces for their "unmatched valour and professionalism" during the conflict.
Trump has mentioned the India-Pakistan conflict more than 80 times since May 2025, with each iteration adding new details and higher numbers . The US President has included this episode among eight wars he claims to have settled during his second term in office .
Regardless of the precise details, the factual record confirms that India did request a cessation of hostilities after suffering significant losses from Pakistan's counteroffensive, and the United States played a facilitating role in announcing and formalizing the ceasefire agreement .
For Pakistan, Trump's repeated acknowledgment of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir as "extraordinary men" represents a significant diplomatic endorsement from the US President . As the one-year anniversary of the four-day war approaches, Islamabad continues to frame the conflict as a decisive victory for Pakistani military prowess and strategic restraint.
