No history lessons in Pakistan? Khawaja Asif's fleeting wish is to ‘bury India under wreckage’

Defying history, Pakistan's Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, made “provocative” remarks about India's military and political leaders, warning that India would be “buried under the wreckage of its warplanes.”

In a post on X, Asif argued that these comments were a desperate attempt to regain lost credibility and accused the Indian government of escalating tensions to divert attention from domestic issues. “Pakistan is a state built in the name of Allah, our defenders are soldiers of Allah. This time, India, Inshallah, will be buried under the wreckage of its planes. Allahu Akbar," he said.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: How India carried out its ‘most significant' military action inside Pakistan in 5 decades

This comes after Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh had said the nation can cross any border whenever necessary to protect citizens and safeguard India's unity and integrity.

Indian Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday issued a stern warning to Pakistan, saying the neighbouring country should stop sponsoring terrorism on its soil if it wants to retain its place on the world map.

General Dwivedi also said the restraint shown by New Delhi during Operation Sindoor would not be repeated in case of a future military conflict and urged Indian soldiers to remain poised for action.

Also, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh on Friday said that at least a dozen Pakistani military aircraft, including US-origin F-16 jets, were destroyed or damaged in Indian strikes during Operation Sindoor.

At least “five high-tech fighters” — of the US-made F-16 and Chinese-made JF-17 class — as well as sophisticated airborne surveillance aircraft were downed about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from the border, Indian Air Force Chief AP Singh told reporters in New Delhi, as reported by Bloomberg.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: How India Has Made It Difficult For Pakistan To REALLY Retaliate

“We have struck a large number of their airfields and we struck a large number of installations,” he said while talking about Pakistani losses.

US democracy is a deep state: Asif

In an interview with British-American Journalist Mehdi Hasan, Asif called US Democracy “deep state” and tried to brush away the claims of military might in governance.

When asked by Hasan, “It's a strange system you have in Pakistan. I think you've called it a hybrid model- where the military and civilian leaders effectively share power. But the military leaders are really the ones in charge, are they not? In most countries, the head of the army answers to the defence minister. In your country, you, the defence minister, answer to the head of the army, don't you? Asim Munir is a more powerful person than you are.”

Also Read: What is Operation Sindoor? Which 9 terror sites did India target? How did Pakistan respond? Key things to know

Khawaja Asif refused, saying, “No, it's not like that... I'm a political appointee, I'm a political worker, you know.”

When confronted with the example of how in the US, Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, has the power to fire American generals, but the same cannot be said for Pakistan, Asif sourly retorted, saying, “They (US) have a different model over here. It's called deep state.”

“It's all over social media”

Earlier, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif faced heavy trolling on social media and in the Pakistani parliament by the opposition after making statements on Operation Sindoor.

In a CNN interview, he attributed his assertion that Pakistan had shot down five Indian jets to evidence found on social media. When asked for proof, he responded, “It's all over social media, on Indian social media, not on ours. The debris of these jets fell into Kashmir, and it's all over Indian media today, and they have admitted it.”

In response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan.

The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10.

The operation targeted several sites linked to banned terror groups, including Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, Sarjal at Tehra Kalan, Markaz Abbas in Kotli, and Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad, all associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, according to PTI.

Additionally, camps and training centres tied to Lashkar-e-Taiba, such as Markaz Taiba in Murdike, Markaz Ahle Hadith in Barnala, and Shwawai Nalla camp in Muzaffarabad, were also struck. Furthermore, Hizbul Mujahideen's camps, including Makaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli and Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, were targeted in the operation.

(With inputs from agencies)