Khawaja Asif hits back at Indian propaganda

Defence minister says personal attacks won't salvage Modi's crumbling image

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday said personal attacks by India against him would not solve the issues confronting New Delhi or restore Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "pitiably crumbling" reputation at home and abroad, particularly after what he described as Pakistan's victory over India last year.

Responding to Indian propaganda in a post on social media platform X, Asif said attacks against him were an attempt to divert attention from questions surrounding Modi's international image and the credibility of foreign honours conferred on the Indian premier.

In his post, the defence minister also referred to criticism by Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and a recent report by British newspaper The Guardian, saying both had questioned the credibility of some of the awards bestowed on Modi.

"Coming after me doesn't solve the problem. Calling me mentally unstable won't bring stability to Modi's pitifully crumbling reputation both at home and abroad specially after beating he got from Pakistan last year," he wrote.

"Rahul Gandhi is saying the same thing about the awards given to Modi - that they are AI-generated or self-managed to project a global statesman image. It has actually enhanced his reputation as a global con man."

"Even The Guardian, a reputable paper, flagged the same issue and questioned the credibility of those awards," he added.

He said that Modi's desperate measures to import fake laurels from abroad are an attempt to stabilise a reputation that is "pathetically unstable at home".

A day earlier, citing the British newspaper's investigation, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had accused Modi of turning international recognition into a carefully staged public relations exercise.

Modi's trophy cabinet came under uncomfortable scrutiny after the investigation questioned the origins of several foreign honours awarded to him, some of which were little more than last-minute creations rolled out ahead of his visits.

The British newspaper reported that the most recent honour presented to Modi in Seychelles had been established just three days before his arrival, while its accompanying certificate contained spelling errors and showed indications that it may have been generated using artificial intelligence.

The report further said the pattern extended beyond Seychelles, pointing out that Israel's parliament had introduced the Medal of the Knesset shortly before Modi's visit last month, making him its first and only recipient, while the Philip Kotler Presidential Award, presented to Modi in 2019 as an annual global leadership honour, has not been awarded to anyone else since.

On Saturday, Khawaja Asif had similarly called into question the circumstances surrounding the awards.