Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued one of his starkest warnings yet, saying that the prospect of an “all-out war” with India cannot be discounted as tensions continue to rise after Operation Sindoor. Speaking in an interview with Samaa TV, Asif declared that Islamabad must remain on “full alert” because the security environment on both its eastern and western borders had become increasingly volatile.
He said Pakistan neither trusts India nor considers it predictable, stressing that New Delhi could resort to “any hostile strategy,” including cross-border incursions or coordinated attacks. Asif framed the situation as a developing two-front challenge, alleging that India was influencing groups inside Afghanistan to act against Pakistan.
His warning comes shortly after two suicide bombings inside Pakistan — one outside an Islamabad court complex that killed 12 people — which Islamabad blamed on Afghan nationals. Pakistan’s leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has repeatedly accused India of backing groups based in Afghanistan, a charge that New Delhi has dismissed as fabricated and politically motivated.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected these accusations on November 11, calling them “baseless” and accusing Pakistani leaders of deflecting domestic attention from political instability and institutional turmoil.
Asif’s latest remarks also follow comments by India’s Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, who described Operation Sindoor — India’s retaliatory cross-border strikes launched after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 civilians — as merely an “88-hour trailer,” emphasising that India remained ready for decisive action if provoked again.
Operation Sindoor, conducted between May 7 and 10, targeted multiple terror facilities inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir before concluding with a negotiated ceasefire. Since then, Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of destabilising the region, while New Delhi maintains the strikes were a direct response to a Pakistan-based terror plot.
Asif has been increasingly vocal about the risk of a simultaneous conflict with India and Afghanistan, claiming Pakistan is “prepared for war on two fronts” and accusing the Taliban leadership of falling under Indian influence. He again suggested that India could “play dirty at the border” and hinted at Indian involvement in the recent Islamabad bombing — allegations that India has categorically denied.
