President Donald Trump Expresses Hope India-Pakistan Conflict Will End "Very Soon"

President Donald Trump Expresses Hope India-Pakistan Conflict Will End "Very Soon"

President Donald Trump has expressed hope that the conflict between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan will “end very soon,” in the wake of India launching attacks inside Pakistani territory and Islamabad vowing retaliation.

“It’s a terrible situation,” Trump told reporters at the White House, as the Indian government stated it had targeted “terrorist camps” in Pakistan following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. According to Pakistan, 26 people were killed in the Indian strikes, while retaliatory Pakistani shelling killed 10 people in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“I think people were expecting something to happen, based on past events. They’ve been fighting for decades—actually, for centuries if you really think about it,” Trump added.

Since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three full-scale wars. Both countries claim the entirety of Kashmir, though they govern separate portions of the region.

“I just want it to end very soon,” Trump said.

After the recent attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people—most of them Hindu tourists—a military response from India had been widely anticipated.

New Delhi blamed the Pakistan-based, UN-designated terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attack.

According to the Pakistani military, India’s strikes hit three locations in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and two in Punjab province, Pakistan’s most populous region. Islamabad reported that the Indian attack killed three civilians, including one child.

The Indian strikes came just hours after the U.S. State Department renewed its call for calm between the two nations.

“We continue to urge both Pakistan and India to pursue a responsible solution that ensures long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia,” said U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce.

Her statement came at a time when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, following the Kashmir attack, threatened to cut off water flows into Pakistan from across the border.

“We urge Pakistan and India to move toward a responsible solution that will maintain long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia,” Bruce reiterated.