By Sushil Kutty
There are media which dismiss the “4-day war” between India and Pakistan as a “skirmish”. US President Donald Trump claims five fighter-jets were shot down, which makes it a full-fledged war. Trump also claims he forced a ceasefire between the two “nuclear-powered neighbours”.
Pakistan hasn’t denied Trump his claim but India appears to rob Trump of any such accomplishment. That being said, India hasn’t outright told Trump to take a hike and stop “lying”, in President Trump’s language, “bull-sh*tting”. Trump spoke of “five fighter-jets down” just a couple of days ago, maybe for the 15th or 16th time.
Trump is like a “broken record”, he keeps reiterating the same “alaap” till it becomes a lullaby and those who hear lose interest or simply nod off. President Trump is a great guy for creating doomsday scenarios. He talks of “from the brink of all-out war” and “worst military escalation”.
If President Trump is to be believed dozens were killed in cross-border shelling, and drone and missile attacks. Trump took pleasure in hyphenating India with Pakistan after the “four days war”. President Trump also discovered the soft corner he has for Pakistanis.
That being said, Trump doesn’t miss a chance to claim credit for brokering the ceasefire and “five fighter-jets down”. And he lets go of the narrative by not clarifying which side he meant?
“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. India has conceded that it had lost jets, but has never provided a number. One narrative says India changed tactics “after suffering losses in the air” on day one and was in command thereafter.
Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan attested to this. Both Pakistan and India claimed to have downed each other’s fighter jets with over 125 aircraft involved in dogfights, the largest aerial battle of all-time. Pakistan claimed it had shot down five Indian aircraft in air-to-air combat, including the Rafale. India mentioned “a few planes”, which Pakistan refutes. Pakistan’s nine air bases were hit.
Trump claimed credit for the ceasefire 24 times. Prime Minister Modi rubbished the claim one time and that, too, via Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. Prime Minister Modi is playing “five jets down” close to his ’56” chest”. Trump is going about reiterating it from every pit-stop.
The two are caught in cleft sticks with neither willing to address each other directly; Trump asking Modi to tell the truth and Modi in turn asking Trump to stop the “bull-sh*tting”. Maybe they have a pact, maybe they each believe they’re smarter than thou.
Whatever, the onus is on Modi and he has to address Trump’s statement, whether truth or lie? Trump has Truth Social, what does Prime Minister Modi have, except ‘Man Ki Baat’, to present his side of the story?
Things have become muddled. Trump’s statement that he brought about the truce with his threat to sever trade ties with both countries if they didn’t stop fighting is as suspect as his claim of “five fighter-jets down”. Question boils down to: How can Trump be compelled to tell the truth?
President Trump wants the “Nobel Peace” and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is bent on denying the award to Trump. That is more or less the basis of the tussle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is enforcing peace in the region in his own way and President Trump craves to be a peacemaker, the best on the planet, for the big Nobel prize.
Trump hasn’t so far not directly blamed Pakistan for Pahalgam. All he says is that he brokered a truce between the two nuclear-powers and “five fighter-jets” were downed. The latest such claim was made at a White House dinner for Republican lawmakers last Friday. “We stopped a lot of wars. And these were serious. India and Pakistan, that was going on. Planes were being shot out of there. I think four-five jets, maybe were shot down, actually,” Trump said.
The Modi government has promised to take “five fighter-jets down” for discussion in Parliament. Maybe Prime Minister Modi will then clear the air and clarify the truth behind President Trump’s “five fighter-jets down” claim. Trump has to be stopped from forming a habit, for his own good and for India’s good. Five fighter-jets shot down is not a small number.
Why can’t India clear the air? Why can’t India answer how many Indian jets were shot down, if any? Why doesn’t India come clean on how many fighter-jet pilots returned home safely? There are questions upon questions. No answers! (IPA Service)
