Trump calls India-Pakistan situation a ‘shame’, hopes it ‘ends very quickly’

Soon after India launched air strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir as part of Operation Sindoor, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he hoped the situation would de-escalate swiftly.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said, “It’s unfortunate. We just heard about it as we were walking into the Oval Office… It seems people anticipated this, given the long-standing conflict — they’ve been fighting for decades, even centuries if you think about it. I just hope it ends very quickly.”

The Indian strikes were carried out in retaliation for the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, which claimed 26 lives — including 25 Indian nationals and one Nepali citizen. The attack was widely condemned, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

Following the air strikes, the Indian Embassy in the US said that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval spoke with his US counterpart and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to brief them on India’s actions and the rationale behind the operation.