Trump Repeats '7 Aircraft Destroyed' Claim', Says Pak PM Praised Him For Saving 'Millions Of Lives'

Last Updated:October 16, 2025, 05:41 IST

Trump claimed he averted nuclear war between India and Pakistan, citing praise from Shehbaz Sharif, while India denied US mediation during Operation Sindoor in the Lok Sabha.

News18

Donald Trump on Wednesday once again claimed that seven aircraft were shot down during the four-day military confrontation between India and Pakistan while praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for saying that the US “President saved millions of lives".

“…The Prime Minister of Pakistan got up the other day, said so beautifully, he says, you saved millions of lives," he told reporters at a White House event.

He further said: “He (Sharif) told that to a group of people right in this office. He said the President saved millions of lives. What he’s referring to is the fact that that would have been with India a nuclear war. That was getting very close…Seven aircraft were shot down. In fact, we have the new ambassador to India right here. They’re well represented. You (US Ambassador-designate to India, Sergio Gor) better represent us, not them…But Sergio is going to do a great job. He’s going to do a great job…"

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he ended the “very big" conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan.

Recently at a meet with military leaders in Quantico, he said: “I’ve settled seven. And yesterday we might have settled the biggest of them all, although I don’t know, Pakistan and India was very big, both nuclear powers. I settled that."

Trump said the Prime Minister of Pakistan “was here along with the Field Marshal, who’s a very important guy in Pakistan, and he was here three days ago. And I didn’t even realise it, as beautiful as he said it, but he said that to a group of people that were with us, two generals, but a group. He said, “This man saved millions of lives because he saved the war from going on, and that war was going to get very bad, very, very bad. President Trump saved millions and millions of lives. That was a bad war’."

Recently, Sharif thanked Trump for “stopping the India-Pak war" and said he would once again nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize for “saving millions of lives not only in South Asia but also in the Middle East."

The US President has made the mediation claims a number of times before; however, he has been fact-checked by New Delhi, which has made it clear that no discussion on trade was ever done with any US leader, including Trump and Vice President JD Vance, during Operation Sindoor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also clarified it in no uncertain terms in the Lok Sabha during the Operation Sindoor debate that “no world leader asked India to stop Operation Sindoor".

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh revealed earlier that India shot down at least five Pakistani fighter aircraft during Operation Sindoor, along with a large surveillance plane.

“We have at least five fighters confirmed kills and one large aircraft, which could be either an ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) aircraft or an AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft, which was taken on at a distance of about 300 kilometres. This is actually the largest ever recorded surface-to-air kill that we can talk about," he said earlier this month.

“We were able to get at least two command and control centres, like Murid and Chaklala. At least six radars, some of them big, some of them small. Two SAGW systems that is in Lahore and Okara. We attacked three hangars. One was the Sukkur UAV hangar, the Bholari hangar and the Jacobabad F-16 hangar. We have an indication of at least one AEW&C in that AEW&C hangar and a few F-16s, which were under maintenance there," the officer added.

News world Trump Repeats '7 Aircraft Destroyed' Claim', Says Pak PM Praised Him For Saving 'Millions Of Lives'

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