Sialkot (The COW News Digital) Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that previous wars between Pakistan and India often left room for uncertainty, but he described the latest conflict as different, claiming that India and its military had acknowledged the outcome.
Asif said Pakistan had defeated an adversary five times its size, calling the development a major achievement for the country.
“Wars have taken place before, but some ambiguity remained. This was the first war with India in which there was no ambiguity, and India itself acknowledged it, as did its military,” he said, describing the claimed recognition as a source of national pride.
Asif also referred to US President Donald Trump, saying the American president had repeatedly spoken about aircraft losses during the conflict. These remarks were presented by the minister as evidence of the scale of Pakistan’s claimed military success.
The defence minister said Pakistan’s diplomatic achievements were continuing under the leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir. He also argued that Muslim countries should reconsider the purpose of overseas military bases, claiming that such facilities were not necessarily established to protect their host countries but could serve Israel’s security interests.
Reflecting on his political career, Asif said he entered politics in 1991 and had spent 36 years serving the country. He described Sialkot as central to his identity and said improving conditions for the city’s residents remained his responsibility, although he sometimes felt tired after decades in public life.
Asif also recalled his experiences during different political periods, saying he had been imprisoned four times. He said he was detained at Attock Fort during the government of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf and spent six months in National Accountability Bureau custody in 2020, during the PTI government.
According to Asif, he repeatedly asked investigators to explain the charges against him but did not receive a clear answer. He criticised what he described as politically motivated arrests, arguing that governments sometimes detain individuals before determining what charges to bring against them.
He said political victimisation was never in the national interest.
The minister’s comments come amid continuing political debate over Pakistan’s military and diplomatic position in the region. However, his claims regarding India’s acknowledgment of the conflict’s outcome and the aircraft losses were not independently established in the remarks provided.
