Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif faces widespread condemnation on social media following a threat-like gesture made towards an Afghan woman journalist during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The reporter questioned him on Pakistan's stance regarding Taliban policies towards Afghan women and asked why Islamabad had failed to challenge those measures when the group was treated as an ally.

Rather than addressing her query, Khawaja Asif interrupted the reporter, pointed at her clothing, and stated, 'Don't go back like this over there. They will... otherwise they will..,' whilst making a throat-slit motion with his hand across his neck.

Online critics condemned both the gesture, which implied she could be killed upon returning to Afghanistan, and the accompanying laughter from the minister and his aides during a serious discussion on women's rights.

This controversial exchange occurred amidst escalating military tension, with Pakistan conducting aerial and drone strikes on ten locations across Afghanistan.

Federal Information Minister Atauallah Tarar described the operation as deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate retaliation targeting military sites used to launch previous drone attacks against Pakistan.

The Afghan government firmly denounced the strikes as a flagrant violation and blatant aggression, with spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirming four Afghan fatalities and warning Pakistan of dire consequences. These hostilities represent the latest developments in ongoing cross-border clashes between the two neighbouring nations.

ANI