New Delhi [India], April 25: In a striking admission, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif acknowledged during an interview with Sky News that Pakistan had funded and supported terrorist organisations for decades, citing alignment with US and Western interests during the Cold War and post-9/11 periods.
In the now-viral clip, when journalist Yalda Hakim directly confronted him with Pakistan’s long history of backing terror groups, Asif responded:
“We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades… and the West, including Britain… That was a mistake, and we suffered for that.”
He added that if Pakistan had not joined the wars in Afghanistan — first against the Soviet Union and later in the post-9/11 U.S.-led campaign — its “track record was unimpeachable.”
Asif also warned of a potential “all-out war” with India, a comment that has drawn concern amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, in which 26 people were killed, mostly Indian tourists, along with one Nepali national.
India’s Diplomatic and Strategic Response
India has responded swiftly and firmly to the attack and the Pakistani minister’s remarks:
- Suspension of SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals; a 40-hour deadline was given for their return.
- Closure of the Integrated Check Post at Attari, disrupting one of the key border transit routes.
- Reduction of diplomatic staff in both Indian and Pakistani High Commissions.
- Suspension of cooperation under the Indus Waters Treaty, a historic agreement signed in 1960.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed that the perpetrators and conspirators would be punished “beyond imagination”, asserting that “the time has come to eliminate the remaining strongholds of terrorism.”
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri also noted that the Pahalgam attack came amid significant democratic and developmental progress in Jammu and Kashmir — and hinted at cross-border linkages behind the violence.