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 Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
“I guess people knew something was going to happen based on the past. They’ve been fighting for many, many decades and centuries, actually, if you really 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 IIOJK.
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.
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.
Pakistan Army destroyed an Indian Army brigade headquarters, according to security sources. A missile strike by Pakistani forces also wiped out an enemy post in the Dhundial sector of the Line of Control (LoC), the sources added.
The Indian strikes came just hours after the US State Department issued a fresh call for calm.
“We continue to urge Pakistan and India to work towards a responsible resolution that maintains long-term peace and regional stability in South Asia,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Her statement came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned of stopping water from flowing across borders following the Kashmir attack.