ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has sharply criticised Indian Prime Minister, saying Narendra Modi is politically isolated both at home and abroad.
Speaking to reporters in Islamabad on Wednesday, Defence Minister Asif said that Indian PM Modi has “become an international joke” and is no longer taken seriously on the global stage.
“He tries to shake hands, but people avoid him,” he remarked.
Khawaja Asif’s statement came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the Modi government over US President Donald Trump’s claim that five Indian fighter jets were shot down during clashes with Pakistan.
“If Modi has the courage, let him say in this House that Trump lied. Say that there was no ceasefire and no Indian jets were downed,” Gandhi had said.
Khawaja Asif went on to say that recent public statements by Modi are an attempt to recover his lost political ground, which the former believes is no longer possible.
He added that Modi faced visible embarrassment during parliamentary sessions in India.
Asif called upon the Indian prime minister to accept the facts of the recent military stand-off, adding that even Indian media and armed forces have accepted losing fighter jets against Pakistan.
Earlier, Indian opposition parties launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in parliament, accusing his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of mishandling the four-day conflict with Pakistan.
In early May, India launched deadly air strikes on Pakistan over allegations about the Pahalgam attack without presenting any credible evidence.
Pakistan had condemned the Pahalgam incident and strongly denied Indian allegations as baseless.
In response to Indian aggression, Pakistan Air Force (PAF) downed six Indian fighter jets, including French-made Rafales. Despite confirmations from international sources and France, India has consistently denied any such losses.
After tit-for-tat strikes on each other’s airbases, it took the US intervention on May 10 for both sides to finally reach a ceasefire.
US President Donald Trump has claimed several times that he brokered peace between the rivals, including most recently on Monday.
“If I weren’t around, you’d have, right now, six major wars going on. India would be fighting with Pakistan,” Trump said during his visit to Scotland.
