Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar was embarrassed on live TV when Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim contested his claims about Pakistan's history with terrorist groups. This happened shortly after India attacked terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
On Sky News, Tarar claimed India targeted civilian areas, but news presentor Yalda Hakim pointed out that India said it only hit terrorist camps, not Pakistani military sites. India had attacked nine terror targets, including bases of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba in Muridke. Tarar denied there were terror camps in Pakistan, saying, "Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. We have lost 90,000 lives fighting it on our western borders. We are a frontline state against terrorism." He also claimed India didn’t condemn the Jafar Express hijacking.
When news presentor confronted Defence Minister's admission on live TV
Hakim interrupted, reminding him that Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently admitted on her show that Pakistan supported terrorist groups as proxies against India for decades. She added that in 2018, US President Donald Trump cut military aid to Pakistan for playing a "double game."
Hakim continued, "You say there are no terror camps, but that contradicts what General Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, and your Defense Minister have said. Even Bilawal Bhutto told me Pakistan has a history of funding terrorists." Tarar struggled to respond, saying, "Since 9/11, Pakistan has been fighting terrorism and is a wall between terrorists and the world." He invited Hakim to visit Pakistan, but she reminded him that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind, was found hiding in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed by US forces in 2011. "I have been to Pakistan, and we know where bin Laden was found," she said.
Operation Sindoor
India carried out "Operation Sindoor' with precision, targeting terrorist infrastructure associated with groups responsible for the attack.The Indian government confirmed that all nine targets were successfully struck, with no civilian or military infrastructure in Pakistan being affected. The strikes were part of India's response to the April 22 terror attack that claimed the lives of 25 Indians and one Nepali national in Jammu and Kashmir.
(With inputs from agency)
