Pakistan, India will get tension 'figured out,' says Trump

WASHINGTON

There has always been tension between Pakistan and India, US President Donald Trump said Friday, adding the neighboring countries will sort it out.

"They have had that fight for a thousand years in Kashmir,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One. “There’s been tensions on that border for 1,500 years. They’ll get it figured out one way or the other."

"There's great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been," he said.

Trump did not answer when asked if he would contact the leaders of both countries but said he is "close" to India and Pakistan and he knew both leaders.

Tensions between the two nuclear neighbors rose Tuesday after unidentified gunmen killed 26 victims in Indian-administered Kashmir, including 25 tourists, mostly Indians, and one local.

New Delhi described it as a "terror attack" with "cross-border" links, blaming Pakistan for supporting it.

Islamabad, however, distanced itself from the attack, saying it was "concerned" and extended condolences to the victims' families.

New Delhi later unilaterally suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty, under which the two neighbors regulate the water share of six rivers in the Indus Basin.

Pakistan responded harshly Thursday, saying there is no provision for unilaterally suspending the water-sharing agreement, which was mediated by the World Bank and signed in September 1960, warning that any attempt by India to divert or stop water to Pakistan would be considered an "act of war."

The two sides also suspended visas for each other’s citizens and expelled army advisors, while Islamabad closed its airspace to Indian airlines.