GUWAHATI: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has admitted that his country has supported and funded terrorist groups for over three decades.
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Speaking to UK-based Sky News on Thursday, April 24, Asif acknowledged Pakistan’s involvement in what he described as "dirty work" on behalf of the United States and Western allies. "We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, and the West, including Britain," Asif said.
"If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union, and later on, the war after 9/11 ... Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable," he added.
However, Asif also described this policy direction as a mistake, adding that Pakistan has paid a price for its involvement.
The admission has arrived amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives. The Resistance Front, a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Despite the admission, Asif reiterated in the same interview that Pakistan had no involvement in the Pahalgam incident. He further warned that the current escalation between the two countries could lead to an “all-out war” if tensions continue to rise.
