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Situation between India and Pakistan ‘very, very bad’, says Trump

US President Donald Trump has said that the current situation between India and Pakistan is ‘very, very bad’. However, he said that he was hopeful that he hostilities between the two countries would end soon.

“Right now between Pakistan and India, there is a very, very bad situation. A very dangerous situation. We would like to see it (hostilities) stop. A lot of people were just killed. We want to see it just stop. We are very much involved in that (process),” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on Friday.

The US president was responding to questions on last week’ attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir in which 49 CRPF personnel were killed.

Jaish-e-Mohammad(JeM) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“India is looking at something very strong. India just lost almost 50 people in the attack. I can understand that too,” Trump said, adding that his administration was talking to authorities in both countries.

“We’re talking. A lot of people are. It’s going to be a very, very delicate balance. There is a lot of problems between India and Pakistan because of what just happened,” he said.

The president said the US has improved ties with Pakistan and works are on for meetings with Pakistan leaders and officials.

“I stopped paying Pakistan the USD 1.3-billion that we used to pay them. In the meantime, we may set up some meetings with Pakistan. Pakistan was taking very strong advantage of the United States under other presidents. We were paying Pakistan USD 1.3 billion a year. I ended that payment, because they were not helping us in the way they should have,” Trump said.

He said the United States’ relation with Pakistan has developed in the last few months.

Following the news of the attack, Kashmiris living in India have been facing xenophobia, hate, terminations and suspensions.

A mob threatened to set a Dehradun college on fire if the institute didn’t terminate a Kashmiri dean. Abid Kuchay, college Dean of the Alpine Institute has been terminated.

“The college asked for it. I agreed for the betterment of the college,” he said. Abid’s resignation has been asked for his role of getting Kashmir students admitted in the college.

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Moreover, four Kashmiri students were suspended on Saturday by the National Institute of Medical Science (NIMS), Rajasthan for sharing a WhatsApp status in which they were allegedly celebrating the Pulwama attack which left 49 CRPF personnel dead.

The second-year students — Talveen Manzoor, Iqra, Zohra Nazir and Uzma Nazir — were suspended soon after they shared as a WhatsApp status allegedly celebrating the killings of the CRPF personnel in the attack

Earlier, Shridev Suman Subharti University in Dehradun suspended a Kashmiri student after his alleged WhatsApp chat regarding the Pulwama attack went viral.

ALSO READ: #IndiaWantsRevenge: Kashmiris outside fear for their lives, face xenophobia, abuse, rustication after Pulwama attack

Meanwhile, Aligarh Muslim University also suspended a Kashmiri student over a ‘highly objectionable tweet’.

Omar Saleem Peerzada, AMU PRO said: “We have come to know of the highly objectionable tweet. Taking immediate cognizance the student has been suspended by the university administration,” he said.

Moreover, 15-20 Kashmiri female students had locked themselves in a hostel room in Dehradun after a mob surrounded the campus area, demanding the management to ‘throw them out of their rooms’.

Shazia Hamid, one of the students, told Free Press Kashmir that she and other Kashmiri female students, fearing the mob, have locked themselves in a room.

ALSO READ: ‘We’re alive today because of our Sikh brothers’: Kashmiri drivers back home from Jammu tell tales of agony and hope

Following Free Press Kashmir’s news story the women were provided safety by the Dehradun police who dispersed the crowd peacefully.

Earlier, former chief minister Omar Abdullah had appealed to the Home Minister of India Rajnath Singh to direct all state governments to take ‘special care of areas where Kashmiris as residing or studying.’

Following the reports of attacks on Kashmiris in various parts of India, Government of India on Saturday asked all the states to ensure safety and security of the students and people from Jammu and Kashmir.

ALSO READ: When Basant Rath ‘came to the rescue’ of Kashmiri students in Dehradun

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