Key Points
- Malaysian intelligence found no evidence establishing Pakistani state sponsorship.
- Anwar rejects India’s attempt to equate Pakistan with Israel.
- He acknowledges terrorist acts occurred but rejects broader accusations.
ISLAMABAD: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has rejected an Indian television anchor’s attempt to equate Pakistan with Israel’s alleged “state terrorism”, saying Malaysia’s intelligence establishment has not provided him with evidence establishing Pakistani state-sponsored terrorism.
Anwar made the remarks during an interview with NDTV journalist Vishnu Som, who repeatedly pressed the Malaysian premier to condemn Pakistan over alleged terrorist attacks in India and specifically sought to draw a parallel between Pakistan and Israel.
‘I wouldn’t go that extent’
The discussion began when Som asked Anwar whether he considered Israel’s actions against Hamas to constitute terrorism.
Anwar responded unequivocally: “Yes, state terrorism. It is terrorism. It’s state terrorism.”
The anchor immediately sought to apply the same characterisation to Pakistan.
“By that token, sir, would you consider what Pakistan has done in Pahalgam, in Kashmir, and against India to be state terrorism?” Som asked.
Anwar rejected the comparison.
“I wouldn’t go to that extent,” he said.
The Malaysian premier acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue in India but stressed his relations with both sides.
“I, of course, am a close friend of Modi Ji, and we engage with the Pakistanis,” Anwar said, adding that Malaysia believed the issues between India and Pakistan could be resolved.
Intelligence evidence matters
Som then accused Anwar of being diplomatic and argued that India had been a victim of terrorism, citing thousands of deaths and the brief India-Pakistan conflict that followed the Pahalgam attack.
He asked why Malaysia was not “as direct” in condemning Pakistan.
Anwar’s response was particularly significant.
He acknowledged that terrorist acts had occurred but drew a clear line between those attacks and the allegation of state sponsorship by Pakistan.
“I’m not suggesting that there were no terrorist acts, there were,” Anwar said.
But he then explained why he could not endorse India’s broader accusation.
“None of my intelligence establishment, their engagement with India, could come back and tell me, ‘See, Anwar, yes, there is a state-sponsored terrorism there.’”
The Malaysian premier said that, as the country’s prime minister, he would base his position on those facts.
“Therefore I, as, you know, Prime Minister of Malaysia, would then refer to these facts,” he said.
Malaysia backs investigation
Anwar’s position on the Pahalgam episode had already been made clear in his contacts with the Pakistani leadership.
During a telephone conversation in May 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif rejected India’s attempt to link Pakistan to the attack and said no evidence had been shared with Islamabad. He reiterated Pakistan’s offer of an international, transparent, credible and neutral investigation.
Pakistan also welcomed Malaysian participation in such an investigation.
Anwar subsequently indicated that Malaysia was prepared to help ease tensions between India and Pakistan, stressing Kuala Lumpur’s close relations with both countries. Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Malaysia later described Anwar as a respected statesman in both Islamabad and New Delhi and welcomed his offer to mediate.
For Islamabad, the episode provides another example of a major Muslim-majority country declining to simply adopt New Delhi’s preferred diplomatic language.
Anwar did not endorse the characterisation of Pakistan as a terrorist state, nor did he accept the interviewer’s apparent attempt to make the Pahalgam allegations the defining test of Malaysia’s relations with Islamabad.
