Pakistan’s Khawaja Asif Signals Readiness For ‘Two-Front War,’ Citing India Amid Taliban Conflict

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khwaja Asif said that India "could play dirty at the border" and claimed Pakistan was ready for a "two-front war" amid border tensions with Afghanistan. He made the remarks in an interview with Samaa Tv while  responding to a question about the possibility of Indian provocations along the border. 

He claimed that India could “commit” a vile act at the border. “Absolutely, you cannot rule it out. Absolutely, there is a possibility of this,” Asif said, offering no evidence to support his claim.

He was also asked about the possibility of a two-front war: "If a two-front war breaks out, have you held any meetings with the Prime Minister on how to deal with it?"

Asif replied, “There is a strategy for this. Publicly, we are not discussing it at this time, but we are prepared for any eventuality. We are prepared for that. There is absolutely no doubt about it.”

He had earlier accused the Taliban government of "fighting a proxy war" on behalf of India. Speaking to Geo News earlier this week, Asif, ignoring his own nation's terror past, said, "I have my doubts that the ceasefire will hold, because the decisions of the [Afghan] Taliban are being sponsored by Delhi."

“Right now, Kabul is fighting a proxy war for Delhi,” he said. 

India, on Thursday, had come out in support of Afghanistan stating that Islamabad has a history of sponsoring terrorism and blaming neighbours for its internal failures. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is closely monitoring the situation arising from the Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes. He also made it clear that the situation had been caused by Islamabad’s actions.