US President Donald Trump has said that around 4-5 jets were shot down during the India-Pakistan hostilities in May even as he again claimed that he mediated the ceasefire between the two nuclear-armed countries by using the trade bogey.
The US President, who made the remarks at a dinner with some Republican lawmakers at the White House, however, did not specify whether the jets belonged to India or Pakistan.
"In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually," Trump said.
Days after India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire on May 10, Air Marshal AK Bharti said India downed many "high-tech" Pakistani fighter jets, without specifying any number.
However, Pakistan downplayed India's claim, saying only one aircraft of the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) suffered "minor damage". Pakistan has claimed to have shot down six Indian jets, including Rafales.
However, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan has dismissed Pakistan's claim even though he admitted that an unspecified number of fighter jets were downed during the hostilities.
General Chauhan said the losses were in the initial stages of the conflict, but the armed forces rectified their mistakes quickly to hit Pakistan again.
"What is important is that, not the jet being down, but why they were being down... Why they were down, what mistakes were made - that is important. Numbers are not important," the CDS said.
Meanwhile, at the same event, Trump once again said his administration helped prevent a major war between India and Pakistan, asserting it defused tensions "through trade".
This, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi specifically telling the President during a phone call that the US had no role in brokering the ceasefire and there was no discussion on trade during the conflict.
"We have stopped a lot of wars. And these were serious wars. India and Pakistan were going at it, and they were back and forth, and it was getting bigger and bigger, and we got it solved through trade," Trump said.
Source: India Today