Trump offers to mediate Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested he is prepared to help resolve the escalating cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, declaring he is “good at solving wars.”

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday en route to Egypt, where he is set to co-chair an international peace summit on Gaza with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Trump said he had been briefed on the hostilities between the two neighbouring countries, Caliber.Az reports per local media.

“I hear there’s a war now going between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I said, I’ll have to wait until I get back,” Trump remarked.

The summit in Sharm el-Sheikh will gather leaders from more than 20 countries. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, army chief Asim Munir, and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar are also expected to attend. Pakistani media reported that a meeting between Trump and the Pakistani delegation is likely to take place during the gathering.

Trump’s comments followed several days of deadly clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. According to the Pakistani military, 23 soldiers were killed and 29 injured in attacks by Afghan forces. Citing an Afghan spokesman, the Associated Press reported that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed during overnight border operations.

Islamabad further claimed that “credible intelligence estimates and damage assessments” indicated its forces had killed more than 200 Afghan Taliban fighters and militants in retaliatory strikes.

The renewed hostilities come just days after Kabul accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes inside Afghan territory — an allegation Islamabad has not yet officially addressed.

By Khagan Isayev