ISLAMABAD: In a recent CNBC interview with Joe Kernen, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that "11 planes were shot down" during the conflict between India and Pakistan last May. He connected this incident to his use of tariff threats in diplomacy.
He said he told the two countries that he would impose 200% tariffs if fighting continued, adding that tariffs helped him stop eight wars, with five of those resolved because of trade pressure.
The US president described India and Pakistan as nuclear nations and said the confrontation was halted through economic pressure.
He also said Pakistan’s prime minister stated that Trump saved at least 30 million lives by stopping the conflict.
‘Brand new, beautiful planes’
In September last year, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the United Nations General Assembly that Pakistani forces had turned seven Indian aircraft into “scrap and dust.”
Trump had earlier described seven or eight aircraft being shot down during the same India-Pakistan tensions, saying “seven brand new, beautiful planes” were shot down while both sides engaged in aerial combat.
Trump also said he warned Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani leaders that no trade would continue if conflict escalated, and said the dispute ended within about 24 hours, after which trade discussions resumed.
The president characterized the outcome as evidence that tariff pressure can influence international conflicts and lead to rapid de-escalation between rival states.
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