Khawaja Asif warns of forceful response against India's plan to conduct 'false flag' operation

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday said India was once again planning a “false flag” operation and warned of a strong response if any such attempt was made.

“India is preparing a false flag operation, possibly using its own people or Pakistanis in its custody, by throwing bodies and claiming they were terrorists and that they had been apprehended,” Asif said while speaking to the media in Sialkot.

His remarks came after sources on Tuesday revealed that India was planning a false flag operation by exploiting innocent Pakistanis, particularly Kashmiris, who inadvertently crossed the border, due to "frustration and isolation" over the federal government's active role in mediation efforts to end the Middle East war

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Sources revealed that Indian authorities were gathering several of these innocent individuals from various jails for the staged operation. "A few Indian prisoners are also reportedly being included in this heinous conspiracy to give the drama a realistic touch," they said.

Asif said that a year ago India faced humiliation before the world, and its own people were criticising it — a trend he said would continue indefinitely.

“If they attempt such a drama this time, we will respond forcefully and take it as far as Kolkata, just as our air force struck them inside their own territory almost a year ago,” he said.

Speaking about Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the US–Israel war with Iran, the defence minister said the country was playing a constructive role in promoting peace in the region.

“Pakistan is playing a role — pray that we succeed in this role, that peace is established in the region and differences among our brothers come to an end,” he said.

He also stressed the need for unity in the Muslim world, saying, “The need for unity in the Muslim world is greater now than ever before, and Pakistan is making efforts towards that unity.”

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A day earlier, Asif cautioned Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh against escalating tensions ahead of the anniversary of the deadly Pahalgam attack, dismissing the latter’s recent threatening remarks as provocative and politically motivated.

On April 22 last year, 26 tourists were killed in a brutal attack in Pahalgam, located in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Just weeks before the anniversary, Singh issued a stern warning to Pakistan earlier today against any misadventure on the border, stating that any hostile actions by Pakistan would be met with an unprecedented and decisive response.

In a pointed message on X, Asif criticised Singh’s remarks as “repeated rhetoric” that exposed India’s strategic anxiety ahead of the anniversary of what he described as a “staged false flag operation”. Asif accused New Delhi of relying on “manufactured crises” that failed to withstand international scrutiny.

“Such threat-mongering is not new,” he said, adding that it followed a predictable pattern of externalising India’s internal vulnerabilities and provoking escalation under the guise of unsubstantiated allegations for vested political interests.