US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he hoped clashes between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan end “very quickly,” after New Delhi´s forces launched strikes and Islamabad vowed retaliation.
“It’s a shame, we just heard about it,” Trump said at the White House, after the Indian government claimed it had hit “terrorist camps” on its western neighbour’s territory following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“I guess people knew something was going to happen based on the past. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades and centuries if you think about it,” he added.
“I just hope it ends very quickly,” said Trump.
Meanwhile, the US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce, in a brief statement, said: “The US is keeping a close watch on the swiftly changing situation between Pakistan and India after the attacks by the Indian forces.”
India had been widely expected to respond militarily since gunmen shot dead 26 people in IOJK.
Key highlights:
- India launches late-night strikes at sites of Kotli, Bahawalpur, Muridke, Bagh, and Muzaffarabad
- Eight Pakistanis slain, 35 injured, mosques targeted
- Five Indian jets were downed in military retaliation
- Indian brigade headquarters, Indian checkpost along LoC destroyed
- Flights on the ground put on hold while all inbound, outbound flights diverted to Karachi
- National Security Committee meeting summoned at 10 am
- Trump terms India’s actions a “shame”; China and the UN call for restraint
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on early Wednesday that at least eight Pakistanis were martyred and 35 were injured in Indian missile attacks on cities in Punjab and Azad Kashmir.T
The Pakistan armed forces, in retaliatory strikes, shot down three Indian Air Force (IAF) jets and destroyed a brigade headquarters.
“Pakistani armed forces are giving a befitting response to Indian aggression,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said.
