Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has declared that India is waging a “low intensity” war against Pakistan from Afghanistan, adding that New Delhi is trying to “settle scores” after facing defeat in the four-day conflict with Islamabad in May.
Asif expressed these views during an interview with Al Arabiya English which was published late Wednesday. His comments are a continuation of the censure he has been directing towards Kabul in relation to terrorist incidents in Pakistan, recent border hostilities and the subsequent failure of talks with its Taliban rulers.
He was asked during his interview with Al Arabiya about the evidence he had to support his claims that New Delhi was “pulling the strings” during talks with Taliban representatives in Doha and Turkiye.
“When it comes to showing the evidence, or presenting the evidence, we will do it. We have the evidence,” Asif responded, highlighting that the Afghan foreign minister was visiting the Indian capital when the border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan began.
He went on to say that there was no doubt that Afghanistan had become a “proxy of India”.
“And India is actually waging a low-intensity war against us from Afghan territory and trying to settle scores. [after] We had the last round about six or five months ago, when they were defeated outright. And they lost seven planes.
“The president of the United States has mentioned on several occasions – he even mentioned it yesterday – that seven beautiful planes were lost in the confrontation between India and Pakistan,” he added.
The conflict between the two countries in May was sparked by an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi, without evidence, linked to Pakistan. Islamabad strongly denied responsibility and called for a neutral investigation.
New Delhi then launched deadly airstrikes in Punjab and Azad Kashmir on May 7. After reciprocal attacks on each other’s air bases during the four-day escalation, it took US intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire. Pakistan initially said it had shot down five Indian aircraft in air-to-air combat and later raised the number to seven.
US President Donald Trump has also mentioned shooting down seven planes during the conflict on multiple occasions, but has not explained which side he lost them on.
When Asif again referred to the May episode in the context of hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the interviewer commented that saying that India was trying to take revenge by using another country was a very bold statement.
To this, Asif replied, “Do you want me to reiterate that statement? I will. I have no problem with that.” He went on to say that Kabul and New Delhi had a “relationship regardless of the regimes of both countries.”
“There is a continuity in the relationship between the two countries, and it has always been to the detriment of Pakistan.”
In response to a subsequent question, he also warned that in case of any violation on Pakistan’s eastern or western border (borders the country shares with India and Afghanistan), Islamabad would respond effectively.
The defense minister further commented that Afghanistan had “chosen to become a puppet or representative of India”.
Asked if he saw a “broader or full-blown war” with Afghanistan on the horizon, the Defense Minister replied: “I won’t speculate on this, that there could be a full-blown war. But there is a risk of [things] The situation is heating up, at least on the border. And obviously, if we have evidence of leniency on the other side of the border, we will retaliate. We will go in and settle scores with them.”
The interviewer also asked him what Pakistan’s position was regarding sending troops to form part of an international force in Gaza.
“Us [have] already [said] that if necessary we will be part of that force to maintain […] peace and tranquility and […] standardization [of situation] in Gaza. Pakistan will always be ready to provide its services in this regard,” Asif replied.
Responding to a question about online “talks” that Pakistan had tested a hypersonic missile over Quetta, the defense minister said it was just speculation.
