India can carry out military strike anywhere along LoC, warns Khawaja Asif

Amid escalating tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday warned that India could carry out a military strike along the Line of Control (LoC).

“There are reports suggesting that India may launch a strike at any point along the LoC. Any such action will be met with a strong and appropriate response,” Asif told journalists in Islamabad.

Bilateral relations have sharply deteriorated since April 22, when gunmen killed 26 people in a brutal assault targeting tourists in Pahalgam. India blamed Pakistan for the attack without presenting any evidence and responded with a series of retaliatory measures, including suspending the Indus Waters Treaty, revoking visas for Pakistani nationals, and closing the Wagah-Attari border crossing.

In response, Islamabad expelled Indian diplomats and military advisers, cancelled visas for Indian citizens—excluding Sikh pilgrims—and closed its main border crossing with India.

Pakistan has denied any involvement in the Pahalgam attack and has offered to participate in a transparent and credible international investigation.

Defence Minister Asif reiterated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had already called for an international commission to investigate the incident. “Such a probe would uncover whether India or an internal actor was behind the attack, exposing the baseless nature of India’s accusations against Pakistan,” he said.

“An international investigation will determine whether [Indian Prime Minister] Narendra Modi is lying,” Asif asserted. “Only then can we justifiably call him a liar who is endangering regional and global peace for political gain.”

The minister further accused India of fomenting terrorism in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. “We submitted evidence of Indian-sponsored terrorism to the United Nations in 2016 and 2017, including videos showing Indian funding and support for terrorist activities,” he claimed.

Asif also blamed India for backing militant activity launched from across the Afghan border, citing the recent surge in terrorist incidents in KP and Balochistan as being orchestrated from Afghanistan with Indian support.

When asked why the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party did not attend a recent security briefing, Asif responded, “I’m not aware of PTI’s reasons for skipping the in-camera session.”

He noted that both the Senate and National Assembly have passed resolutions addressing the current situation, emphasizing that “the nation’s position is unified. If anyone still wishes to call an All Parties Conference (APC), they are free to do so.”