Imran Khan's minister said he has been kept in government by Pakistan Army. Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said he speaks about war at the behest of army. Rasheed said Pakistan has atom bombs weighing 125-250 grams

India has been saying this all along. The world has acknowledged it for long. But a Pakistani government has always shied away from saying it. That Pakistan Army is the boss of the Pakistan government in the country. Now Imran Khan's minister Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has openly admitted that he was appointed by the Pakistan Army for speaking on "war" with India.

Speaking at Nankana Sahib, a religious town for the Sikhs, Pakistan's Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed said, "I speak about war because the agenda of [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is to destroy Pakistan. The army has kept me here to speak on the preparations for war. I am saying it with utmost responsibility that Pakistan has smart bombs."

A senior minister in the Imran Khan government, Rasheed said Pakistan has atom bombs of smaller sizes weighing between 125 grams and 250 grams, which can be used to target India.

This is the same language that the Pakistan Army has been speaking to threaten India over the years. All the civilian governments proposing a peaceful relationship with India have faced the wrath of the Pakistan Army that never shelves its political ambition in country that has seen four military coups.

Pakistan Army directly ruled Pakistan in three phases, 1958-1971, 1977-1988 and 1999-2008. Plus, the army was also the de facto ruler between 1953 and 1956 -- a total of nearly 38 years of direct military rule out of 72 years of existence.

A Pakistani government's Kashmir and hence India policy has always been dictated by the Pakistan Army. In Imran Khan, the Pakistan Army has got a willing collaborator unlike some of his predecessors.

Pakistan Army, Prime Minister Imran Khan and several of his ministers have been giving provocative statements and indulging in war mongering. Responding to such statements, Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson for the external affairs ministry, said the world could see through the game of Pakistan reflected in these remarks.

Rasheed criticised Narendra Modi for saying that India and Pakistan were one nation before 1947 and they can resolve their differences through bilateral talks during his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

On Friday, Rasheed got an electric shock while speaking against PM Modi at a rally organised by the Pakistan government in its attempt to set a narrative to present scrapping of special status to Jammu and Kashmir by the Indian government last month was an encroachment of Pakistan's right.

Pakistan observed "Kashmir Hour" on Friday to express "solidarity" with separatism in Kashmir Valley. In a video that went viral, Rasheed, is heard saying, "Hum tumhari, Modi niyaton se waqif hain (we are aware of your intentions, Modi)" when he suffered electric shock and discontinued his speech.

When he resumed, he pointed fingers at PM Modi saying, "Current lag gaya. Khair, koi baat nahi. Mera khayal hai, current aa gaya. Yeh Modi is jalse ko nakam nahi kr sakta (I think it was electric current. Never mind. Modi cannot ruin this rally).

On August 5, the Modi government issued a new Presidential Order under Article 370 revoking special status enjoyed by Jammu and Kashmir under Indian Constitution till date. A state reorganisation bill, brought by the Modi government, was also passed by Parliament last month. It bifurcates the state into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir with a legislative assembly and Ladakh without a legislative assembly. The new arrangements come into effect on October 31.

Pakistan objected to revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and launched an aggressive tirade against India, though with little success on international forums. It would be interesting to recall that Pakistan abrogated - in the 1970s -- a similar provision of special status enjoyed by the portion of Jammu and Kashmir it occupied in 1947 after invading the state.

With frustration growing at its failure to secure international support over India's Kashmir move, Pakistan has resorted to war blackmail tactics. Prime Minister Imran Khan even wrote an op-ed article in the New York Times threatening a nuclear "direct military confrontation" between India and Pakistan with "consequences for the whole world" over Kashmir.

When Imran Khan's op-ed was published, many believed that he was only playing His Master's Voice. Now, Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed has proved it beyond doubt.