Pakistan Minister Admits To Backing, Training Terrorists

Pahalgam: Pakistan’s defence minister, in a brazen claim, appeared to admit that the country had been supporting and training terrorists for the “last three decades” but pinned the blame on the United States and the West. The remark, a vindication of India’s long-held stand, comes at a time when New Delhi has held Islamabad indirectly responsible for the terror attack in Pahalgam that left 26 tourists dead.

When asked by journalist Yalda Hakim about Pakistan’s long history of “supporting” terror outfits, Khawaja Asif said, “We have been doing this dirty work for the US and the West, including Britain, for three decades.” However, he was quick to point out that it was a “mistake” and Pakistan suffered for that. “If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on, following the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan would have an unimpeachable track record,” the minister said.

The question posed before the US State Department spokesperson pertains to Trump’s first term at The Oval Office when he had said on two occasions that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approached him to mediate over the Kashmir issue. “If both Pakistan, let’s say, and India wanted me to do that, I am ready, willing, and able. It’s a complex issue,” said Trump in 2019.

Months back in 2019, he had first offered to mediate between the two nations during then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s state visit to US. Soon after Trump’s remarks, India rejected the US President’s claims, clarifying that PM Modi never asked him to mediate. The Ministry of External Affairs took to X and said that “no such request” had been made from India’s end.