Trump Claims He ‘Stopped War’ Between India and Pakistan

3 min readUpdated: Feb 20, 2026 11:49 AM IST

US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his claim that he helped “stop the war between India and Pakistan”. He also claimed that “11 expensive jets” were downed during the India-Pakistan conflict last year.

Speaking at the Board of Peace Event, Trump said that Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his chief of staff that Trump had helped save 25 million lives. “He (Pakistani PM) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India…That war was raging. Planes were being shot down.” He also praised PM Narendra Modi, saying “He’s a great man”, in front of Sharif, who was present at the Board of Peace meeting.

#WATCH | At the Board of Peace Event, US President Donald Trump says, “…He (Pakistani PM) said in front of our Chief of Staff that President Trump saved 25 million lives when he stopped the war between us and India…That war was raging. Planes were being shot down. And I got… pic.twitter.com/pm5eT7xjz3

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026

Trump repeats his “phone call” claim

Trump said he threatened the two nations with “not doing trade deals” and “imposing 200 per cent tariffs” if the war wasn’t stopped.

“And I got on the phone with both of them, and I knew them a little bit. I knew Prime Minister Modi very well…I called them and I said, listen, I’m not doing trade deals with you two guys if you don’t settle this up… And all of a sudden, we worked out a deal. I said, if you fight, I’m going to put 200 per cent tariffs on each of your countries.”

“They both wanted to fight. But when it came to money, it’s nothing like money. When it came to losing a lot of money, they said, I guess we don’t want to fight…11 jets were shot down. Very expensive jets,” he added.

Trump has made such claims more than 80 times since the war between the nations ended. Trump also has at different times, given different numbers as to how many jets were shot down.

India has however denied such claims. New Delhi has maintained that the cessation of firing was agreed on May 10 after direct talks between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan.

‘PM Modi is watching us,’ says Trump

Trump also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi halfway through his speech, saying that “he was watching the event”.

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“I spoke to Prime Minister Modi. He’s excited. He’s watching us right now. Pakistan and India. That was a big one. I think you should actually stand, come please stand just for a second. Pakistan and India. Thank you very much,” he said.

India has joined as an observer, represented by Namgya C Khampa, Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington DC to Trump’s Board of Peace. Other observer countries include Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

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