KUALA LUMPUR-UNS: US President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would “quickly resolve” the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict, praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Asim Munir as “great people.”
Trump made the remarks while addressing the signing ceremony of a Thailand-Cambodia peace deal on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
Border crossings between the two countries have remained closed since October 11, following clashes earlier this month that killed dozens on both sides in the worst fighting since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.
Referring to recent border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Trump said he was confident of helping the two sides reach peace.
“… we’re averaging one a month. There is only one left, although I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up. But I’ll get that solved very quickly. I know them both.”
The US president further said he viewed peace building as a priority.
“I can’t think of any president who ever solved one war. They start wars. They don’t solve them,” he added.
Meanwhile, the leaders of Thailand and Cambodia signed an enhanced ceasefire deal on Sunday in the presence of Trump, whose intervention in their fierce border conflict earned him a Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
The agreement builds on a truce signed three months ago after Trump called the then-leaders of the two countries, urging them to end hostilities, or risk their respective trade talks with Washington being put on hold.
