In Parliament, Khawaja Asif says 'madarsa students are Pakistan's second line of defence': Watch
The defence minister said that such students will be used at the right time.
Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif has asserted that students studying in madrassas are the nation's “second line of defence”.
The defence minister made the statement while addressing Pakistan's Parliament amid heightening military conflict between India and Pakistan.
“As far as madrassas or madrassa students are concerned, there’s no doubt they are our second line of defence. The youngsters who are studying there, when the time comes, will be used as needed 100 per cent."
A video of his statement has gone viral on social media. Follow LIVE updates.
Tensions between the two neighbours have soared significantly after the Indian armed forces conducted precision strikes targeting terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on May 7.
The operation was in retaliation for the April 22 attack by Pakistan-linked terrorists in Pahalgam, killing 26 civilians.
Also Read | India attacks 3 Pakistani airbases after 26 Indian locations targeted
Earlier this week, Khawaja Asif failed to provide any conclusive evidence of his country’s claims of shooting down Indian fighter jets during an interview with CNN.
Embarrassingly, Asif further attributed his claims of downing fighter jets to information social media.
“It’s all over social media. On Indian social media, not on our social media,” he replied. “The debris of these jets fell… and it’s all over Indian media,” he told CNN interviewer Becky Anderson.
Anderson then quickly pushed back, pointing out the lack of official evidence, and said: "You’re the defence minister, sir. The reason to talk to you today, sir, is not to talk about content all over social media. I'm sorry."
Footage of the exchange has garnered nearly half a million views on X, where thousands of people mocked the Pakistani minister for citing social media as proof.
In another bizarre statement, Asif later told Pakistan's Parliament that Islamabad deliberately chose not to intercept Indian drones to avoid exposing the exact locations of their military assets.
