“It’s a shame, we just heard about it,” US president Donald Trump said at the White House following India’s missile attack on Pakistan-administered Kashmir and also in mainland Pakistan early Wednesday, killing at least 8 people and injuring many.
“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,” the US president said.
“I just hope it ends very quickly,” said Trump.
India and Pakistan have fought three full-scale wars since gaining independence from the British in 1947. Both claim Kashmir in full but administer separate portions of the disputed region.
India had been widely expected to respond militarily since gunmen shot dead 26 people, mostly hindu tourists, in Indian-administered Kashmir. New Delhi has blamed militants that it has said were from Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba, a UN-designated terrorist organization.
Pakistan’s army said the Indian strikes targeted three sites in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and two in Punjab province. Pakistan army says three civilians, including a child, had been killed in Indian airstrikes.
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.