Trump Calls Pahalgam Attack ‘Bad One’, Hopes India-Pakistan Will Resolve Border Tensions
US President Donald Trump on Friday condemned the Pahalgam terror attack, calling it a “bad one,” while expressing hope that India and Pakistan will resolve long-standing border issues peacefully.
US President Donald Trump described the Pahalgam terror attack as a “bad one” and pointed to centuries-old tensions between India and Pakistan, calling on both nations to find a way forward.
“I’m very close to India and I’m very close to Pakistan… Kashmir has been going on for a thousand years,” Trump said while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One. “That was a bad one yesterday, over 30 people.”
His remarks come in the wake of a deadly assault by Pakistan-backed terror outfit The Resistance Front (TRF), which killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow on April 22 — one of the worst attacks since the 2019 Pulwama bombing.
Trump acknowledged the persistent strain along the Line of Control and said, “There have been tensions on that border for 1,500 years… I know both leaders, there’s great tension, but there always has been.”
Earlier this week, Trump personally called Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express condolences and offer US support. “President Donald Trump conveyed his deepest condolences at the loss of innocent lives,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
In response to the attack, India suspended the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, closed the Attari Integrated Check Post, and ended the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals. Additionally, Indian missions in Pakistan are being downsized.
Pakistan termed the suspension of the treaty an “act of war” and warned of severe diplomatic retaliation, including a potential suspension of the 1972 Simla Agreement.
Prime Minister Modi vowed to bring the perpetrators and their backers to justice, saying, “We will chase down every terrorist to the ends of the earth.”
Global support continues to grow, with the US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and the State Department reaffirming solidarity with India in its counterterrorism efforts.
