US President Donald Trump has said that India and Pakistan have shared tense relations "for 1,500 years," adding he is close to both countries. His comments came after 25 tourists and a local were killed in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam region on April 22.
Speaking with the media aboard Air Force One on Friday, the US President claimed the Kashmir issue had been going on "for a thousand years," adding that it could probably be "longer than that".
Trump said, "I am very close to India, and I'm very close to Pakistan, and they've had that fight for a thousand years in Kashmir."
He attempted to allay global concerns over the conflict, suggesting the two sides figure it out.
"There have been tensions on that border for 1,500 years. It's been the same, but I am sure they'll figure it out one way or the other," Trump said.
Without mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his Pakistani counterpart Shehbaz Sharif, Trump said he knew both the leaders.
"There's great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been," he added.
Trump's comment came after US State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Thursday condemned all acts of terrorism and said that the country stood with India.
"As President (Donald) Trump and Secretary (Marco) Rubio have made clear, the United States stands with India, and strongly condemns all acts of terrorism," PTI quoted her as saying.
At least 26 people, including a Nepali national, were killed and several others were injured when terrorists opened fire in the Baisaran Valley, a popular tourist place in Kashmir. Multiple eyewitnesses later said there was a panic situation after they heard gunshots and started running for cover.
Since then, the Indian Army, along with the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), has been carrying out a major manhunt to track down the terrorists.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the April 22 attack in Pahalgam.
On Friday, Pakistan's defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif called for an international investigation into the attack, adding that the cash-strapped nation was "ready to cooperate" with "any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors," The New York Times reported.
Since the attack, India has put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, while Pakistan has closed its airspace for Indian airlines.
