Khawaja Asif Accuses India of Using Afghanistan as Proxy Against Pakistan

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday made the serious allegation that India is using Afghan territory to conduct a proxy war against Pakistan, a statement that significantly escalates the public framing of Pakistan's security threat assessment along its western flank.

Khawaja Asif's remarks represent some of the most direct and explicit accusations from a serving Pakistani cabinet minister linking Indian intelligence activities to cross-border destabilisation through Afghanistan. The Defence Minister did not elaborate publicly on the specific evidence underlying the allegation but framed it within the broader context of what he described as sustained Indian hostility toward Pakistan.

The accusation comes at a particularly sensitive juncture, with Pakistan-India relations already at a low ebb and Islamabad closely monitoring developments along both its eastern and western borders. Pakistan has for years maintained that hostile non-state actors operating from Afghan soil benefit from external sponsorship, though formal attribution to India at ministerial level marks a notable escalation in official rhetoric.

The statement is likely to draw a sharp response from New Delhi and may have implications for diplomatic engagements at multilateral forums. Islamabad's position also places additional pressure on Kabul, as such allegations implicitly raise questions about the Afghan Taliban administration's oversight of its territory.