Khawaja Asif – Artifex.News

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Rajnath Singh’s remarks: ‘Response to any attack would be ‘swift, calibrated and decisive’

admin — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 02:59:00 +0000

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Thursday (April 2, 2026) that his country’s response to any attack would be “swift, calibrated, and decisive”.

Mr. Asif took to X to respond to remarks by his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh, who earlier said that any “misadventure” from India’s neighbour in the prevailing situation would invite an “unprecedented and decisive” action.

Speaking at an event in poll-bound Kerala, Mr. Singh on Thursday (April 2) said that following the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives, India had destroyed the terrorist hideouts and infrastructure in Pakistan. He contended that during Operation Sindoor, Indian forces brought Pakistan to its knees within 22 minutes.

“Repeated rhetoric reflects not strength, but visible strategic anxiety as the anniversary of the Pahalgam” attack approaches, Mr. Asif said.

Mr. Asif further said: “Such threat-mongering is not new; it is part of a predictable pattern – externalising internal fragility, and attempting to provoke escalation under the garb of unsubstantiated allegations for vested political interests.”

Recalling the four-day conflict in May, the Pakistani Minister said that history was a stark reminder that miscalculation has consequences.

“The next time our response will be even more forceful and decisive. Let there be no ambiguity: Pakistan remains committed to peace and regional stability, but its resolve to defend sovereignty is absolute, its preparedness complete, and its response will be swift, calibrated, and decisive,” he said.

The Pahalgam attack that took place on April 22 last year resulted in a brief conflict between the two countries.

Published – April 03, 2026 08:29 am IST

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Chances of war with India are real, warns Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif

admin — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:54:00 +0000

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that “chances of war with India are real” and claimed that his country would achieve even bigger success in the case of any armed conflict in future.

Mr. Asif made the remarks in an interview with Samaa TV on Tuesday (October 7, 2025), where the anchor asked him about the recent statements by the Indian political and military leaders.

The Minister said there was a threat of armed confrontation and Pakistan was keeping its guard and watching the situation. “Chances of war with India are real,” Mr. Asif said in response to a question.

He added that Pakistan would likely achieve more favourable results in the event of a war with India. “I do not want escalation, but the risks are real, and I am not denying that. If it comes to war, God willing, we will achieve a better result than before,” Mr. Asif said.

India won’t show restraint next time, says Army chief

He said Pakistan has more supporters and allies than it had six months ago, while claiming that India had even lost the support of the countries which were on its side before the May conflict.

However, he refrained from naming any country in the category. Mr. Asif also claimed that India was never a united nation, except briefly under Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and that Pakistan was created in the name of Allah and stood united during the May confrontation despite several internal issues. “At home, we argue and compete. In a fight with India, we come together,” he said.

His remarks come just days after he made similar threats following statements from Indian Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi, who warned Pakistan to stop backing state-sponsored terrorism if it wants to exist on the world map.

Separately, Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Friday said at least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft, including US-origin F-16 jets, were destroyed or damaged in Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, speaking at an event in Hyderabad on Friday, asserted that India can cross any border whenever necessary to protect citizens and safeguard its unity and integrity.

In response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

India has been maintaining that Pakistan pleaded for ending the hostilities in May after the Indian military pounded various Pakistani military infrastructure.

Published – October 08, 2025 05:24 pm IST

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Hardly Anyone Has “Licked” As Many Shoes As Imran Khan: Pak Defence Minister

admin — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 14:10:27 +0000

Imran Khan is the founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Islamabad:

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif lashed out at Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, alleging that after the retirement of former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, the opposition party is begging “someone else” for relief, Geo News reported.

Taking a jibe at Mr Khan, the senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader said, “Hardly anyone has licked as many shoes as the PTI founder.”

Addressing the National Assembly, Khwaja Asif cited the remarks of Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) leader Aun Chaudhry. He alleged that Imran Khan was taken to General (retd) Amjad Awan’s house by hiding him in a car trunk.

Mr Asif further claimed that the jailed PTI founder made every kind of desperate request to seek relief.

“After Bajwa sahib, they [PTI] are now trying to hold the feet of someone else. Hardly anyone has ‘licked’ as many shoes as the PTI founder,” Geo News quoted the federal minister as saying.

These remarks come in response to PTI Secretary-General Omar Ayub Khan’s address in the lower house of Parliament wherein he slammed the federal government for presenting a budget against the interests of the nation and the country.

“This budget was made by an economic hitman,” said Mr Ayub, who is also the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.

Taking a jibe at Mr Ayub, Mr Asif said his speech reminded him of his 20-year-old statements wherein he would praise PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif in the same way he was hailing PTI founder Imran Khan.

The Pakistan Defence minister said that the PML-N would welcome the PTI if it apologised for the May 9 riots that broke out after the arrest of former premier Imran Khan.

The PML-N leader also slammed the opposition party for writing a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), asking the global lender to link funding to the audit of alleged rigging in the elections, Geo News reported.

“After being ousted from power, the PTI wanted the country to default,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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India-Pakistan relations could be improve after Lok Sabha elections, hopes Pak Defence Minister

admin — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 06:15:46 +0000

A file photo of Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has expressed hope for the betterment of ties with India after the general elections in India. Mr. Asif’s comments came days after External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in Singapore said that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism almost at an “industry level” and the mood in India now is not to overlook terrorists and it “will not skirt this problem anymore”.

“Our relations with India could be improved after elections there,” Mr. Asif said while speaking to reporters outside the Parliament House in Islamabad on April 1 , adding that the bilateral ties between the two countries have their “own background”.

Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats in India will take place between April 19 and June 4, spread across seven phases.

Also read: Pakistan to ‘seriously’ consider restoring trade ties with India: Foreign Minister Dar

Islamabad and New Delhi have a long history of strained relations, primarily due to the Kashmir issue as well as the cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. In 2019, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic ties with New Delhi after the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories. The decision, Islamabad said, undermined the environment for holding talks between the neighbours.

Pakistan has been insisting that the onus of improving the ties was on India and urging it to undo its “unilateral” steps in Kashmir as a sort of pre-condition to start the talks. India has dismissed the suggestion and made it clear to Pakistan that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were integral and inalienable parts of the country.

New Delhi has also asserted that the constitutional measures taken by the Indian government to ensure socio-economic development and good governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are matters internal to India. It has been maintaining that it desires normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan while insisting that the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment that is free of terror and hostility for such an engagement.

Pakistan, which borders China, India, Afghanistan, and Iran has witnessed tensions with other neighbours, except for China, following cross-border attacks from Iran and Afghanistan.

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