Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has once again provoked tensions in South Asia with his latest declaration that Islamabad is “fully prepared” to engage in a two-front war against India and Afghanistan.

The statement, made during a televised interview, has added a new layer of volatility to an already strained regional landscape.

Asif’s remarks came days after a deadly car explosion in New Delhi that killed at least 13 individuals. Indian security agencies have attributed the attack to a militant affiliated with the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). The group has a history of carrying out cross-border terrorist operations targeting India, notably in Pulwama and Pathankot.

In his comments, Asif declared that Pakistan was ready to defend both its eastern and western borders. “We are prepared to face India and Afghanistan simultaneously,” he stated, invoking divine support for what he termed a “second round” of conflict. He added that Pakistan would have “no option but war” if its adversaries sought escalation.

Linking Kabul And New Delhi

The Defence Minister’s remarks followed a bomb attack in Islamabad that left 12 people dead. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif blamed the incident on groups “supported by India”. However, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) later claimed responsibility, further exposing Islamabad’s internal security challenges.

In previous statements, Asif had accused the Taliban regime in Kabul of sheltering militants conducting attacks inside Pakistan. He alleged that the Afghan government was disunited, consisting of multiple factions with conflicting interests. Without presenting evidence, Asif claimed that some elements within the Taliban maintained links with India — part of what he described as a broader effort to wage a “proxy war” along the Durand Line.

Accusations of “Proxy Warfare”

This narrative of India’s alleged involvement through Afghanistan has been a recurring feature in Asif’s rhetoric. He has repeatedly portrayed attacks inside Pakistan as manifestations of a two-pronged threat orchestrated from New Delhi and channelled through Afghan territory. Analysts, however, view these accusations as attempts to externalise Pakistan’s growing internal security problems and deflect public attention from escalating TTP violence.

By blending threats with religious undertones and deflection tactics, Asif’s statements appear to serve both domestic and strategic purposes — projecting a posture of defiance while rallying nationalist sentiment amid political uncertainty in Islamabad.

Regional And Strategic Implications

Asif’s warning against “any misadventure” by India or Afghanistan compounds the perception of increasing instability along Pakistan’s borders. His assertion that Islamabad would “respond forcefully” to any aggression fits into a long-standing pattern of deterrent rhetoric, often used to justify military preparedness and cross-border hostilities.

For New Delhi, the renewed invocation of a two-front war narrative is significant. It echoes Pakistan’s Cold War-era strategy of maintaining a high degree of military readiness on both fronts despite a faltering economy. India is likely to treat the statement as bluster, but it underscores Islamabad’s continued reliance on militarised posturing as a tool of foreign policy.

Timing Factor

The timing of Asif’s comments coincides with Afghanistan’s deteriorating ties with Pakistan, rooted in Islamabad’s accusations of cross-border militant infiltration. Kabul, on its part, counters that Pakistan seeks to externalise its domestic security failures and refuses to accept responsibility for nurturing extremism within its borders.

Observers suggest that Asif’s escalation is partially directed at an internal audience — reinforcing narratives of external threats to unify Pakistan’s political and military leadership. Yet on the international stage, such rhetoric risks further isolating Islamabad while undermining confidence in its commitment to regional stability.

Conclusion

Khawaja Asif’s latest pronouncements reflect a continuation of Pakistan’s familiar pattern of inflammatory rhetoric coupled with shifting blame towards neighbouring states. By invoking both India and Afghanistan in the same breath, he has revived the spectre of a two-front conflict that serves political utility at home but carries serious risks for a volatile region.

As South Asia braces for the fallout of these words, the real challenge for Pakistan remains within — securing its borders, stabilising its economy, and addressing the militant threat it once helped create.

Based On NDTV Report