ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Saturday said India was planning a “false-flag operation” to blame Pakistan, warning New Delhi of a strong response if it conducted such a “drama”.
Speaking to the media in Sialkot, Defence Minister Asif said that India might attempt to fabricate an incident by using its own nationals or Pakistani nationals in its prisons.
“They [plan] some kind of false-flag operation … by laying down some bodies somewhere and saying they were terrorists,” Asif said.
The defence minister said any attempt to stage such a false-flag operation would be met with a firm reaction from Pakistan.
“If they try to enact such a drama this time, then God-willingly, we will take them to Kolkata,” Asif added, referring to the eastern Indian city.
He also criticised India’s leadership, saying it continued to face domestic and international criticism despite its larger size and resources.
Referring to last year’s conflict, Asif said Pakistan had responded effectively and warned that any future aggression would invite a stronger and more decisive response.
Defence Minister Asif’s remarks come days after Pakistan’s security sources warned that India was planning for a false-flag operation, including by using Pakistani nationals who had inadvertently crossed the border.
Earlier this week, Asif criticised Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over remarks warning Pakistan against any “misadventure”.
In a post on X, Asif said such rhetoric reflected “visible strategic anxiety” ahead of the anniversary of what he described as a “staged false-flag operation” in Pahalgam.
“Such threat-mongering is not new; it is part of a predictable pattern — externalising internal fragility and attempting to provoke escalation,” he wrote, adding that miscalculations could have serious consequences between two nuclear-armed states.
Repeated rhetoric reflects not strength, but visible strategic anxiety as the anniversary of the staged False Flag Operation in Pahlgam approaches – an episode that failed to withstand international scrutiny and exposed New Delhi’s reliance on manufactured crises.
Such…
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) April 2, 2026
Pakistan’s role in de-escalating Iran war
Meanwhile, the defence minister said Pakistan was playing a constructive diplomatic role to end the conflict between the United States and Iran.
He expressed hope that ongoing efforts to facilitate dialogue between the two sides would succeed.
“Pakistan is playing an important role in the ongoing US-Iran negotiations,” he said, adding that Islamabad aimed to promote regional stability and reconciliation.
