ISLAMABAD, AUG 15: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the country’s nuclear assets are solely for national defence and not intended for any form of nuclear blackmail or coercion.
Speaking exclusively with Geo News on Friday, the defence minister said: “We do not threaten anyone with our nuclear capability. It is purely a guarantee of our national security.”
While aiming at Indian PM Narendra Modi, Khawaja Asif said: “Modi now sees Pakistan and its military even in his dreams. For him, the idea of war with Pakistan has become a nightmare.”
Asif went on to say that Pakistan has fought and won wars in self-defence, while Modi now faces a different kind of conflict within India itself.
“There is growing dissent inside India, even from citizens and opposition leaders who say Modi’s attitude brought the region to the brink of war,” he added.
Pakistan and India engaged in the military confrontation in May 2025, triggered by an attack in April on tourists in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.
In response to the Indian aggression, Pakistan’s armed forces launched a large-scale retaliatory military action, named “Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos” and targeted several Indian military targets across multiple regions.
Pakistan downed six Indian fighter jets, including three Rafales, and dozens of drones. After at least 87 hours, the war between the two nuclear-armed nations ended on May 10 with a ceasefire agreement brokered by the US.
The ceasefire was first announced by US President Donald Trump on social media after Washington held talks with both sides, but India has differed with Trump’s claims that it resulted from his intervention and threats to sever trade talks.
Criticising Modi’s leadership, Khawaja Asif said that India’s previous political and economic standing has declined under his rule. He said that Modi’s failures have become an opportunity for the Indian opposition, who he said are now capitalising on his “missteps.”
Turning to security matters, the defence minister accused India of backing terrorism in Pakistan and internationally, saying that Modi was behind recent incidents in both Pakistan and Canada.
He said that [terror] groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Taliban factions operating in Pakistan are proxies of India and that Pakistan holds clear evidence of Indian involvement, which has been shared with international forums.
“If we behave like good neighbours, peace in South Asia is possible. The people of this region deserve economic progress and stability,” the defence minister concluded.
