Trump claims India-Pakistan tensions date back ‘1,000 years’; social media asks ‘Kashmir problem arose in 2000 BC?’

US President Donald Trump recently made a statement on India-Pakistan tensions in Kashmir. The inaccurate reference to history has grabbed significant attention and has left internet buzzing.

“I am very close to India and I'm very close to Pakistan, and they've had that fight for a thousand years in Kashmir. Kashmir has been going on for a thousand years, probably longer than that. That was a bad one (terrorist attack)," the US President said while addressing reporters aboard Air Force One ahead of Pope Francis funeral.

Asserting that the conflict will resolve in the coming time, he said, “There have been tensions on that border for 1,500 years. It's been the same, but I am sure they'll figure it out one way or the other. I know both leaders. There's great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been,” Reuters reported. This remark comes after April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 were killed and many others were injured.

The statement on India and Pakistan tension dating back to 1,000-year has sparked amusing reactions online. Reacting to Donald Trump's comment, a user stated, “1500 years ago —> Gupta Empire was ruling most of India with the majority of Kashmir in it. Islam isn’t a thing by then, forget about Pakistan and border tensions." A third user said, “I think he meant metaphorically not literally."

A second user remarked, “Only Trump could come up with this gem that Pakistan and India have been fighting over Kashmir for a thousand years. Pakistan and India haven’t even existed for a hundred years yet. Before August 1947, it was one country, and Kashmir was simply a part of it.” A third user replied, “Pakistan didn't exist before 78 years & he is talking about 1000 years.”

A fourth user joked, “Kashmir problem arose in 2000 BC.” A fifth user quipped, “Tensions for over a thousand years? I think he too has been feeded with WA University gyan to the fullest.”

Pahalgam terror attack update

In an interview with the New York Times, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday his country was “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors” while referring to Pahalgam attack. He further noted that the country does not want this war to flare up, because flaring up of this war can cause disaster for this region.