Journalist Fact-Checks Minister On Air After India Strikes, Pak Minister Attaullah Tarar Denied Existence Of Terror Camps

New Delhi: Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar was left floundering on live television after Sky News anchor Yalda Hakim fact-checked him with his own government’s record of supporting terror groups — just hours after India launched precision strikes on terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). The strikes, dubbed Operation Sindoor, destroyed infrastructure linked to terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen.

During an appearance on Sky News, Tarar was denouncing New Delhi for allegedly targeting civilian areas — a claim that Hakim promptly dismantled. “The Indian armed forces have said that they only targeted terrorist camps and not Pakistani military facilities,” Hakim told the minister. Tarar responded with a flat denial: “Let me make it very clear, there are no terrorist camps in Pakistan. Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. We are the frontline state against terrorism.”

“On my programme, just a week ago, your Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted that Pakistan has for decades had a policy of funding, backing, using terrorist groups as proxies in the country,” Hakim said. “In 2018, President Donald Trump cut military aid to Pakistan because he accused Pakistan of playing a double game.”

Tarar struggled to respond before doubling down: “Pakistan is the guarantor of world peace.” He then extended an invitation to Hakim to visit the country. “I have been to Pakistan,” Hakim replied. “And we know that Osama Bin Laden was discovered in Abbottabad in Pakistan.”

Calling India a “provocator and aggressor”, Tarar asserted Pakistan would defend its territory and was readying a response to the missile strikes. As tensions spiked, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned India’s military action as an “act of war,” vowing a “befitting reply.”