President Donald Trump appeared to have been taken by surprise by news that Pakistan and India were exchanging missile fire as the security situation between the two nuclear-armed historic rivals increasingly deteriorated on Tuesday.
A reporter asked Trump for his reaction during a question-and-answer session in the Oval Office, to which the president responded: “We just heard about it as we were walking through the doors of the Oval… They’ve been fighting for a long time… I just hope it ends very quickly.”
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated dramatically, marking the most severe confrontation between the two nuclear-armed neighbors since 2019.
The immediate trigger for the current escalation was a terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, Indian-administered Kashmir, which resulted in the deaths of 26 Hindu tourists.
India attributed the attack to the Resistance Front (TRF), a group allegedly linked to Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In response, India launched “Operation Sindoor,” a series of missile strikes targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The operation targeted nine sites, including areas in Bahawalpur, Muridke, and Muzaffarabad, reportedly associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. India claimed the strikes were precise and aimed solely at militant facilities.
Pakistan condemned the strikes as an “act of war,” reporting at least 26 civilian deaths and over 46 injuries, including women and children. In retaliation, Pakistan claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets and initiated artillery shelling across the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in additional casualties, according to reports.
The situation has led to a significant diplomatic fallout, including India’s suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty and downgraded diplomatic ties with Pakistan.
Islamabad responded by closing its airspace to Indian aircraft, expelling Indian diplomats, and suspending the 1972 Simla Agreement.
Both nations have heightened military readiness, with India conducting nationwide civil defense drills and Pakistan placing its forces on high alert.
International actors, including the United Nations, the United States, and China, have expressed deep concern and urged both countries to exercise restraint to prevent further escalation.
Trump’s remarks came during a swearing-in ceremony for Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
The Indian embassy stated in an emailed press release that Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval briefed his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State and Interim National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, shortly after the strikes were launched, Newsweek reported.
India’s defense ministry said in a statement announcing the strikes: “Our actions have been focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature. No Pakistani military facilities have been targeted. India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution.”
It added: “These steps come in the wake of the barbaric Pahalgam terrorist attack in which 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen were murdered. We are living up to the commitment that those responsible for this attack will be held accountable.”
Indian officials also said they only attacked locations they identified as “terrorist camps” in the strikes. But Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, refuted that claim, telling Geo News, “India is claiming it attacked terrorist camps; this is not true, international media can visit the places civilians were targeted.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement: “Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India, and a strong response is indeed being given.” He further stated that “the Pakistani nation and the Pakistan Armed Forces know very well how to deal with the enemy. We will never let the enemy succeed in its nefarious objectives.”
