Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has escalated tensions in the region with his latest remarks, asserting that Pakistan is “fully prepared” for a two-front war — one against India on its eastern border and another against the Taliban along its western frontier. His comments came in the wake of a suicide bombing in Islamabad that killed 12 people and injured 36, an attack claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Addressing a public gathering, Asif said, “We are ready for war on two fronts. We are prepared to face both the eastern (India) and western border (Afghanistan). Allah helped us in round one, and He will help us in round two.” His statement marked a continuation of Pakistan’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric amid deepening internal instability and strained relations with both India and Afghanistan.
The Defence Minister directly linked the Islamabad blast to Afghanistan’s Taliban government, suggesting that the attack carried a deliberate warning. “The rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan, but bringing this war all the way to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which — praise be to God — Pakistan has the full strength to respond,” Asif posted on X. His claim came even as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused groups “active with Indian support” of playing a role in the attack, in a statement widely viewed as an attempt to externalise Pakistan’s deepening security crisis.
The suicide bombing, which targeted a parked vehicle inside the Islamabad judicial complex, has triggered widespread fear across the capital. Security forces have since tightened checks across major cities amid warnings of more potential attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, which operates from bases along the Afghanistan border. The TTP has grown increasingly hostile toward Islamabad following the collapse of peace talks last year.
Asif’s remarks also carried a pointed reference to India, echoing his earlier efforts to downplay and politicise the Delhi car explosion near Red Fort that killed 13 people last week. “Until yesterday, it was a gas cylinder blast. Now they are trying to label it a foreign conspiracy. India could soon blame Pakistan for it,” Asif said earlier this week. Indian officials have categorically dismissed his statements as “a desperate attempt to deflect attention from Pakistan’s domestic failures.”
A senior Indian security source told India Today TV that Asif’s comments reflected “Islamabad’s nervousness” following the Islamabad bombing and its growing inability to contain internal militant threats. Early forensic analysis of the Delhi explosion reportedly confirmed the use of military-grade explosives, contradicting Pakistan’s dismissive claims.
Analysts in New Delhi and Kabul view Asif’s rhetoric as part of a strategic deflection campaign — projecting external threats to mask Pakistan’s deteriorating internal security and economic collapse. The recent surge in TTP attacks, coupled with mounting tensions with the Taliban regime in Kabul, has left Pakistan’s military establishment overstretched and facing hostility on both borders.
By portraying readiness for a “two-front war,” Khawaja Asif appears to be reviving a narrative of military resilience at a time when Pakistan’s defence credibility and diplomatic clout are under severe strain. However, experts warn that such statements risk inflaming regional tensions further, at a moment when both South Asia and Afghanistan remain volatile and on edge.
