Just hours after India carried out precision missile strikes on terror launchpads in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK), Pakistan’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar was left visibly cornered on live television after being confronted with his own government’s record of supporting terrorism.
The Indian military’s carefully coordinated offensive, dubbed Operation Sindoor, was launched in the early hours of Wednesday in response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians, mostly tourists. According to military sources, nine key terror infrastructure sites were struck, including facilities linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen. Indian authorities have confirmed that the strikes were focused, non-escalatory, and deliberately avoided Pakistani military targets.
Appearing on Sky News, Minister Tarar attempted to deflect blame onto India, accusing New Delhi of targeting civilian areas. However, anchor Yalda Hakim swiftly dismantled the narrative. “The Indian armed forces have said they only targeted terrorist camps and not Pakistani military facilities,” Hakim reminded the minister.
In response, Tarar flatly denied the existence of terror camps in Pakistan. “Let me make it very clear: there are no terrorist camps in Pakistan. Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. We are the frontline state against terrorism,” he said.
But Hakim pushed back, citing statements from Pakistan’s own top officials. “On my programme just a week ago, your Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted that Pakistan has for decades had a policy of funding, backing, and using terrorist groups as proxies,” she said. “In 2018, President Donald Trump cut military aid to Pakistan because he accused Pakistan of playing a double game.”
Hakim went on to cite former Pakistani leaders including Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto, both of whom had publicly acknowledged Pakistan’s links with terror groups. “So when you say there are no terrorist camps in Pakistan, that contradicts what your own leaders have said—including what your Defence Minister said just last week,” she added.
Tarar, visibly struggling, doubled down with a sweeping statement, “Pakistan is the guarantor of world peace.”
He then extended an invitation to the anchor to visit Pakistan—only to be met with a pointed retort. “I have been to Pakistan,” Hakim replied. “And we know that Osama Bin Laden was discovered in Abbottabad in Pakistan.”
Pakistani information minister Ataullah Tarar just went up on Sky News. It didn’t go as planned. Incredible work by @SkyYaldaHakim 👏 pic.twitter.com/pNKJvrjIGo
— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) May 6, 2025
The interview highlighted the growing international scrutiny over Pakistan’s long-standing role in sheltering and supporting militant groups—a charge consistently denied by Islamabad, despite mounting evidence to the contrary.
As tensions spiked across the region, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned India’s actions, calling the missile strikes an “act of war” and promising a “befitting reply.” Pakistan’s military claimed that at least eight civilians were killed and 35 injured in what they alleged were missile strikes on cities in Punjab and PoJK.
However, Indian military sources refuted these claims, stating that over 80 terrorists were neutralised and that no civilian or military Pakistani infrastructure was targeted.
Operation Sindoor marks one of the most assertive Indian military responses in recent years, underscoring New Delhi’s shift toward kinetic retribution in the face of persistent cross-border terrorism.
(With inputs from India Today)
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