Trump calls Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict “easy to resolve”

As Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed today to extend their 48-hour ceasefire, US President Donald Trump intervened in the conflict, calling it “easy to resolve.”

“I understand that Pakistan attacked or that there is an attack on Afghanistan; it’s easy for me to solve, if I have to solve it,” Trump said, while responding to a reporter during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

He said he enjoys resolving conflicts because he wants to prevent people from being killed and said he has “saved millions and millions of lives.”

“Pakistan’s prime minister said I saved tens of millions of lives by interceding between Pakistan and India; that would have been bad, two nuclear nations,” he added, referring to the conflict in May this year between the two neighboring countries.

Read more: Pakistan and Afghanistan extend ceasefire until conclusion of Doha talks

The US president’s statement came as Islamabad and Kabul mutually agreed to extend the temporary truce until the conclusion of talks planned in Doha, according to three Pakistani security officials and an Afghan Taliban source.

Diplomatic sources confirmed that the ceasefire was extended at the request of Kabul after the initial 48-hour truce expired at 6:00 p.m. on Friday.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that Pakistan will not tolerate terrorism originating from Afghan soil and promised that its perpetrators – “wherever they are” – will pay a high price.

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He claimed that the terrorism Pakistan faces today was a result of collaboration between India, elements in Afghanistan and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“The rulers of Kabul, who are now sitting in India’s lap and allegedly plotting against Pakistan, were until recently under our protection and moving freely on our soil,” Asif said.

The minister said that all Afghan citizens currently residing in Pakistan must return to their homeland, stating that Afghanistan now has its own government. He said Pakistan’s land and resources belonged to its 250 million citizens and that “the time has come to end five decades of forced hospitality.”

He ruled out further diplomatic delegations to Kabul and warned that letters of protest or pleas for peace would no longer be Pakistan’s only response. “Any source of terrorism, wherever it is, will have to pay a high price,” he said.

Read also: There will be no more room for maneuver for undocumented Afghan refugees: Prime Minister Shehbaz

A temporary truce between neighbors earlier this week put a pause on days of fierce fighting that had killed dozens and wounded hundreds.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the clashes began on the night of October 11-12, when Afghan Taliban forces, “supported by Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij elements,” launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan along the border.

The ISPR said the Afghan Taliban “resorted to cowardly aggression” at four locations in Spin Boldak, which was “effectively repulsed” by Pakistani troops.

Read: The Taliban regime is not a “true representative” of the Afghan people: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

“Eight posts, including six tanks, were destroyed in an effective but proportionate response,” the military statement said, adding that between 25 and 30 Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij militants are believed to have been killed.

security sources said The express PAkGazette that Pakistani forces carried out precision strikes inside Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, targeting key Taliban strongholds.

“The strikes completely destroyed the Taliban’s No. 4 Battalion and No. 6 Border Brigade, killing dozens of foreign and Afghan militants,” an official said.

Following intense clashes, both sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire to leave room for dialogue and give the Taliban another chance to address Pakistan’s concerns.