Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday signaled a partial softening of his rhetoric, indicating a willingness to de-escalate following India’s Operation Sindoor—a bold set of precision strikes on nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Asif stated:
“This has been initiated by India... If India is ready to back down... we will definitely wrap up these things.”
This remark contrasted sharply with his earlier warning to Geo News, where he issued a blunt threat of retaliation, saying:
“If India attempts to occupy even an inch of our land, it will prove to be a costly misadventure... We will respond with full force.”
He emphasized that Pakistan’s response would be both “kinetic and diplomatic”, indicating that while a military response remains on the table, diplomatic outreach or backchannel dialogue is also being considered.
India's precision strikes, conducted in a swift 25-minute blitz, targeted infrastructure belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen, with Bahawalpur and Muridke—the nerve centers of JeM and LeT—among the locations hit. Over 80 terrorists were killed, according to Indian sources.
Importantly, India clarified that no Pakistani military installations were targeted, framing the action as a targeted, proportionate response to the Pahalgam terror attack.
Despite Asif’s more conciliatory remarks, Pakistan’s Foreign Office condemned the strikes as an “unprovoked and blatant act of war,” and its army stated that a response would come “at a time and place of its own choosing.”
This evolving narrative suggests that both sides may be exploring off-ramps to avoid further escalation, though rhetoric and retaliatory posturing remain intense.
