United States President Donald Trump on Saturday said the current standoff between India and Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack is a “very dangerous situation”, AFP reported. Forty Central Reserve Police Force jawans were killed in a suicide bombing in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 14.

Pakistan-based extremist group Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack. Since the attack, hostilities between the two nations have increased with India demanding that Pakistan crack down on terror organisations operating from its territory.

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Trump said his administration is communicating with both the countries to de-escalate the situation. “Right now between Pakistan and India, there is a very, very bad situation. A very dangerous situation,” Trump told reporters, according to PTI. “We would like to see it [hostilities] stop. A lot of people were just killed. We want to see it just stop. We are very much involved in that [in the process].”

He further said: “India is looking at something very strong. India just lost almost 50 people with an attack. So I can understand that also.”

Trump said ties between US and Pakistan have improved in the last few months. In 2018, Trump had withdrawn $1.3 billion (Rs 8,238 crore) in annual aid to pressurise it into taking “decisive action” against terror factions based in the country. “In the meantime, we may set up some meetings with Pakistan,” Trump said on Saturday. “Pakistan was taking very strong advantage of the United States under other presidents.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Friday said it had seized control of a complex in Bahawalpur city, believed to be the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed extremist group. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan had on February 19 criticised India for blaming Pakistan for the Pulwama attack, “without any evidence”. Khan had said Pakistan will investigate India’s claims if provided “actionable evidence”.