Netizens grill Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif over claim of ‘hacking floodlights' during IPL match

One of the users on X took a jibe at Asif's remarks and wondered whether Cyber in Pakistan had different concept and syllabus.

Published on: Jun 16, 2025, 20:29:46 IST

By HT News Desk

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Pakistan's defence minister, Khawaja Asif, has made yet another bizarre claim, this time, he has said that Islamabad's "cyber warriors" switched off floodlights at a cricket stadium in India during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match.

Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif also claimed that the country's "cyber warriors" also turned on dam waters in India. (AFP)

Asif, while speaking in the Pakistani assembly, claimed, "India does not understand that all of this is entirely Pakistan's indigenous technology. Our cyber warriors shut off the lights in India and got an IPL match suspended, opened dam waters...all these cyber attacks were done by our kids only."

Asif was likely referring to the May 8 IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamshala. The match was called off during the 11th over of the first innings as three floodlight towers went off, causing a blackout in the stadium.

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The "significant technical failure" caused the match to be cancelled, and the stadium to be evacuated as a safety protocol.

Netizens on social media trolled the Pakistani defence minister, grilling him with comments and posts on X.

One of the user wrote, "Just so you know -- IPL floodlights don't run on WiFi, they run on secure electrical systems. You can't hack them like a home router."

"I didn't know Cyber has different concepts and syllabus in Pakistan!" another quipped.

An X user wrote sarcastically, "If switching off lights is a cyber triumph, then my 3 year old nephew is a global threat he once unplugged the Wi-Fi during a Zoom meeting."

ALSO READ | Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif's X handle 'withheld' in India after Pahalgam attack

"First pay your due electricity bill online," another said.

Earlier as well, Asif had gotten himself trolled with his remarks related to Operation Sindoor.

During a TV interview, Asif had claimed that Pakistan shot down five Indian fighter planes. But when the anchor asked him to provide proof for the claim, Asif responded, "It's all over social media."

The anchor, surprised by Asif's response, said, "The reason to talk to you today, sir, is not to talk about content all over social media. I'm asking you very specifically for the evidence, for the detail."

However, Asif failed to substantially back his claim.

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HT News Desk
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