Pakistan insisted on Thursday that it was “ready” for a two-pronged clash with India and Afghanistan — the latest in a series of provocative statements from Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. The assertion came mere hours after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed that a suicide bombing attack in Islamabad had originated in Afghanistan with “backing” from India. Multi-round peace talks between Afghanistan recently without an agreement as both sides continued to trade blame for border tensions.
“We are ready for war on two fronts. We are ready, we are prepared to face both the eastern (India) and western border (Afghanistan). Allah helped us in round one and He will help us in round two,” India Today quoted Asif as insisting during a public event.
According to reports, he also took to X contending that Pakistan “had the full strength to respond”. Asif (whose social media account remains withheld in India) claimed that the rulers of Kabul had sent a message by “bringing this war all the way to Islamabad”. Both countries have repeatedly warned about a potential war if peace talks failed to elicit results.
India has pushed back sharply against claims that it was involved in the Islamabad terror attack — calling it a “predictable tactic” from Pakistan to deflect public attention from domestic issues. The MEA remarks came hours after Sharif accused groups “active with Indian support” of being involved in the attack. He claimed that the attack had been led by “India-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan at the Islamabad G-11”
“India unequivocally rejects the baseless and unfounded allegations being made by an obviously delirious Pakistani leadership. It is a predictable tactic by Pakistan to concoct false narratives against India in order to deflect the attention of its own public from the ongoing military-inspired constitutional subversion and power-grab unfolding within the country. The international community is well aware of the reality and will not be misled by Pakistan’s desperate diversionary ploys,” read the curt statement.