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Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday said India was planning a \u201cfalse-flag operation\u201d to blame Pakistan, warning New Delhi of a strong reaction if it conducted such a \u201cdrama\u201d.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the media in Sialkot, Asif said: \u201cThey [plan] some kind of false-flag operation through their own men or through the Pakistanis in their detention by laying down some bodies somewhere and saying they were terrorists and had done so and so.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kind of insult they faced around a year ago [\u2026] the entire world, in fact, their own public, taunts them that they are five times larger than Pakistan in every aspect \u2014 population, resources, military, airforce,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The minister asserted that the Indian leadership would keep facing such backlash \u201ctill the end of the world\u201d, recalling the Pakistan Air Force\u2019s performance during the conflict with India last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they try to enact such a drama this time, then God-willingly, we will take them to Kolkata,\u201d he added, referring to the eastern Indian city near the border with Bangladesh.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the media, Asif also expressed hope that Pakistan\u2019s efforts to mediate peace talks between the US and Iran would succeed.<\/p>\n
Pakistan has recently stepped into a significant diplomatic role amid rising tensions between the US and Iran<\/a>, offering to host direct talks between the two sides.<\/p>\n \u201cPakistan is playing an important role in the ongoing US-Iran negotiations,\u201d the defence minister said.<\/p>\n He added that Pakistan aims to promote \u201cregional stability\u201d and hopes the ongoing negotiations will lead to a resolution of disputes.<\/p>\n The minister\u2019s remarks come days after security sources warned <\/a>that India was preparing for a false flag operation against Pakistan, which reportedly entailed exploiting Pakistani citizens captured after inadvertently crossing the border.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Asif had also reminded <\/a>his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh that the \u201cillusion of space for war between two nuclear states is inconceivable and has drastic consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n The reprimand was oste\u00adnsibly in reaction to Singh\u2019s recent statement, in which he warned Pak\u00adistan against any attem\u00adpted \u201cmisadventure\u201d under the shadow of the ongoing Middle East war, as reported by Indian media.<\/p>\n \u201cRepeated rhetoric reflects not strength, but visible strategic anxiety as the anniversary of the staged false-flag operation in Pahalgam approaches \u2014 an episode that failed to withstand international scrutiny and exposed New Delhi\u2019s reliance on manufactured crises,\u201d Asif had said in a post on X, in which he did not specifically refer to the statement but tagged Singh.<\/p>\n \n <\/a>\n <\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cSuch threat-mongering is not new; it is part of a predictable pattern \u2014 externalising internal fragility and attempting to provoke escalation under the guise of unsubstantiated allegations for vested political interests,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The Pahalgam episode<\/u><\/a> that took place on April 22 last year saw tourists being attacked in India-occupied Kashmir. New Delhi, without evidence, linked it to Pakistan, which led to a brief military escalation<\/u><\/a> between the two countries from last year. Islamabad had strongly denied<\/u><\/a> responsibility for the attack while calling for a neutral investigation<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n