Beans have not been spilled. Only India and some international powers have been shown a mirror and made to face the truth that the dirt is on their face. In one of the most direct and unfiltered interviews a sitting Pakistani defense minister has ever given to a Western media outlet, Khawaja Muhammad Asif has directly confronted India's claims and turned the focus toward historic Western duplicity.
In his recent talk with Australian journalist of Afghan origin Yalda Hakim, the minister effectively dismissed India’s post-Pahalgam reaction as predictable. He categorically stated that Pakistan is ready for both talks and war, whatever New Delhi chooses. He conveyed that the tourist attack episode, much like the Pulwama attack context, appears “staged” to create a regional crisis.
Tossing shades and tearing open the file marked “strategic blunders”, he used Pulwama as precedent, the CIA-Mujahideen years as context, and Modi’s Gujarat record as indictment. He regretted that Pakistan had spent decades patronizing the fighters in Afghanistan, referring to it as “dirty work” done for the United States and the West
Despite the interviewer’s repeated attempts to elicit an admission of Pakistan’s shortcomings and failures, he continued to condemn terrorism in all its forms and stated that Pakistan itself had been a victim for decades like no other country.
Tossing shades and tearing open the file marked “strategic blunders”, he used Pulwama as a precedent, the CIA-Mujahideen years as context, and Modi’s Gujarat record as indictment. He regretted that Pakistan had spent decades patronizing the fighters in Afghanistan, referring to it as “dirty work” done for the United States.
Pointing to the West’s historical tendency to wine and dine the very elements it now labels as terrorists, he recalled the era when the then freedom fighters were the darlings of Washington and London.
Throughout the interview, his tone remained confrontational without sounding reckless. He spoke with the quiet confidence of a man who knows the stakes — and was daring enough to call a bluff.
When asked about the threat of Indian airstrikes, he shrugged off the intimidation tactics, warning that any act of aggression would meet a “measured” but resolute response. Retaliation would be in kind, he emphasized, with no ambiguity about Pakistan’s readiness.
This defiance to back down reinforces his point that false narratives might win elections, but they do not win wars. Calling India out for its habit of manufacturing needless crises was the right thing to do, but much more is needed to ensure the world does not look away this time.
New Delhi must abandon past practices of provocation and denial if it truly seeks stability in the region and genuine Pakistan India dialogue. Islamabad has conveyed the desire to deescalate tensions. The choice, once again, rests with India.
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