Khawaja Asif warns Kolkata strike if India stages misadventure
Khawaja Asif warns Kolkata strike if India stages misadventure
Pakistan's defence minister says Kolkata would be targeted in any future misadventure by India, amid claims of a false-flag plot and rising cross-border tensions.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Saturday that if India attempts any future misadventure, Pakistan will respond by striking Kolkata. Speaking to reporters in Sialkot, about 130 kilometers from Lahore, he claimed there are reports that a false-flag operation has been designed either through their own men or through Pakistanis in detention by laying down bodies somewhere and blaming terrorists for it. He added that forces would take unprecedented action if Pakistan faced such misadventures, using the phrase God-willingly as part of his remarks.
On the other side, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had warned that any misadventure from Pakistan would invite unprecedented and decisive action, highlighting the fragile security situation along the border. The exchange of sharp rhetoric comes against the backdrop of the Pahalgam attack last year, which triggered a four-day confrontation between the two nations.
The minister's comments did not present independent evidence to back the false-flag claim, but they contribute to a climate of heightened tension that observers say could complicate any hope for immediate de-escalation. Analysts note that such inflammatory statements risk raising regional anxieties and complicating diplomacy at a moment when both sides face domestic and security pressures. The focus now appears to be on deterrence and signaling rather than dialogue, at least in the immediate term.
As the rhetoric escalates, regional watchers urge restraint and a return to credible channels of communication to prevent a miscalculation that could lead to real-world consequences for civilians in both countries.
