NEW DELHI: In a shocking admission by Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif that his country has long funded and supported terrorist groups is not an ordinary act but a well-thought-out strategic move on the board of ongoing act of disruption initiated by US President Donald Trump.
It is a statement that not only strips away decades of denials and lays bare a truth that India has been pointing to for years but also the dirty game that Washington has been playing for decades to topple and destablise governments that challenge the US diktats.
“We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, and the West, including Britain,” Asif told the UK’s Sky News in an interview against the backdrop of rising tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed at least 26 people, mostly tourists, at an idyllic meadow in the worst attack of its kind in years in Jammu and Kashmir.
His answer came when asked about Pakistan’s role in funding terrorists. He added that the country’s decisions in the past were a “mistake” that led to long-term damage.
US used terrorist as proxies
“If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union, and later on, the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable,” Asif said.
He pointed fingers at global powers.
“It was convenient for the big powers to blame Pakistan, which 'fought' the wars on their side in the ’80s against the Soviet Union. All these terrorists of today were wining and dining in Washington,” he said.
Asif said that the US had itself used terrorists as “proxies” during the Soviet-Afghan war.
India has repeatedly and over the years accused Pakistan of harbouring and aiding terrorist organisations, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam massacre.
The attack has triggered a strong diplomatic response from India, including the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan has said any attempt to stop the water will be seen as an act of war and has also announced measures of its own including suspending trade with India and closing its airspace to Indian airlines.
Asif warns of potential escalation in tensions
Pakistan’s defence minister warned of potential escalation in the tensions.
“We will measure our response to whatever is initiated by India. It would be a measured response. If there is an all-out attack or something like that, then obviously there will be an all-out war,” he said.
“If things get wrong, there could be a tragic outcome of this confrontation,” he added.
Asked if the world should be concerned, he responded: “Yes, I think so. The clash between two nuclear powers is always worrisome.”
Without offering a shred of evidence, he accused India of staging the Pahalgam attack adding weight to speculations going around in the country that the move may have been to arrest the falling credibility of the central government in the light of the coming Bihar assembly elections.
“We could make out that this whole thing was staged to create some sort of a crisis in the region, particularly for us,” he claimed.
Pressed on what he meant, Asif said, “I personally and our government also, in the last two days, have condemned it categorically without any reservation that terrorism in all its forms is something that should be condemned as strongly as possible.”
Asked directly if he blamed India, Asif responded: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely, they create these situations.”
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