Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif looked clearly agitated on TV on an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan after he was challenged over contradicting claims regarding former Prime Minister Imran Khan's social media usage.
During the debate, Asif first maintained in his opposition that Khan was personally running his Twitter account from Adiala Jail, where he had been jailed since August 2023. But when Hasan insisted that he had made previous comments implying that the account was run from India, the minister found it difficult to stick to his guns.
“He is operating a Twitter account from the jail cell,” Asif initially said. Hasan interjected: “You said he was operating from India the other day... You said India is controlling his Twitter account... You just made two different allegations. Is it Imran in his prison cell or is it India?”
Looking agitated, Asif replied, "Either he is working from the cell or he should at least be able to recognize who is working the jail cell." He referenced "intelligence sources" as his source but refused to show evidence.
“The evidence I cannot publicly disclose,” Asif said. When Hasan asked why he would make such an allegation without proof, Asif replied bluntly: “No, because it is there.” Pressed further, he conceded, “Yes, based on, obviously, intelligence. Nobody is stating it openly.”
The discussion also touched on Pakistan's foreign affairs. Hasan cited statistics from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute that indicated that about 80 percent of Pakistani weapons in the last four years have originated from China. He wondered whether the recent moves to further relations with Washington under Donald Trump, such as mineral and crypto agreements, could compromise relations with Beijing.
Asif brushed off the suggestion. “We are not worried about that because it’s a time-tested relationship with China since the late 50s... I’ll just conclude it by saying that China is not worried about our flirtations or whatever you call it.”
Pressed on whether Pakistan’s strategic future lies with the US or China, Asif was unequivocal. “In the past, even today and in the future also, China has been a very reliable ally, a very reliable provider of arms of all kinds to us... Almost a major portion of our arms are from China, and our defence cooperation is increasing. It is much more robust than before.” He added: “They are reliable and they are our neighbours. We share borders and we share the geography.”
His comments came after a White House meeting yesterday, when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir sat down with President Trump.
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