Islamabad: Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif’s recent interview with an international broadcaster was taken out of context by the Indian media. The Indian media has once again distorted the facts and misinterpreted a few selected sentences of the defense minister’s speech, which is aimed at fueling tension in the region and distorting Pakistan’s position.
The Indian media claimed that Khawaja Asif threatened India with war, although in the original interview he clearly stated that if India attacked, the region could be engulfed in war, so negotiations were the only solution to establish peace. The defense minister invited New Delhi for direct talks on the occasion and urged that the path of dialogue be adopted instead of confrontation.
In his statement, Khawaja Asif also called on world powers, including US President Donald Trump, to play a serious diplomatic role to reduce tensions in South Asia. He made it clear that the international community has a responsibility to help establish peace in the region to avoid any unnecessary confrontation.
The defense minister also gave an unbiased analysis of the past policies on the occasion. He said that if Pakistan had refrained from joining the war against the Soviet Union and not become part of the US war after 9/11, then Pakistan would have had a clean and spotless record on the world stage today. These views were expressed at a time when sensitivity is increasing on the diplomatic front in the region.