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Hours after India’s targeted strike on terror camps in Pakistan under “Operation Sindoor,” Pakistan’s information and broadcasting minister Attaullah Tarar faced an awkward and embarrassing moment on live television when Sky News journalist Yalda Hakim fact-checked his claim that Islamabad is a “victim of terrorism.”
During an interview on Sky News, Tarar was briefing over the damages caused by Indian strike and Pakistan government’s stance on terrorism, when he said, “Let me make it very clear, there are no terrorist camps in Pakistan. Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. We are fighting terrorism on our western borders.”
His response came after Hakim questioned him over India’s claim of targeting nine strategic locations of different terrorist organisations including Lashkar-e-Taiba’s stronghold in Mudrike and Jaish-e-Mohammad’s camp at Bahawalpur.
Tarar went on to say that, “We (Pakistan) are the frontline state against terrorism. We have laid down 90 thousand lives in this war against terrorism.”
“India, on the other hand, when we had the Jafar Express hijacking, India did not even condemn it, let alone express any concern about the incident,” the Pakistan minister continued.
Hakim cut in, referencing Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s recent admission—made during her earlier program—that his country had carried out the “dirty work” of sponsoring terrorism on behalf of the United States for nearly three decades.
“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 in the country (India),” the anchor said, pointing out the fact that in 2018, President Donald Trump cut military aid to Pakistan alleging Islamabad of playing a “double game”.
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Referring to high-profile statements from within Pakistan’s own leadership, she remarked, “When you say there are no terrorist camps in Pakistan, that directly contradicts what General Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, and even your current defence minister said just last week. Bilawal Bhutto himself told me only days ago that supporting terrorist organisations has historically been a part of Pakistan’s policies.”
The minister appeared visibly unsettled, fumbling for a response before asserting, “After 9/11, Pakistan became a frontline state in the war against terror. We continue to be a bulwark against terrorism and act as guarantors of global peace.” He then proceeded to invite Hakim to visit Pakistan to see the situation firsthand.
Unfazed, Hakim delivered a pointed reminder. “I have been to Pakistan—and let’s not forget, Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind 9/11, was found hiding in Abbottabad, right there in Pakistan.”
She further dismissed the attempt to shift the narrative to the past, stating firmly, “Dragging the conversation back to the 1990s won’t change much—Pakistan was on the UN’s grey list for terror financing just a few years ago.”
India launches strike against Pakistan-based terror camps
Codenamed “Operation Sindoor”, the strikes were carried out using drones and missiles, targeting nine strategic locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
“It was deemed essential that the perpetrators and planners of the April 22 attack be brought to justice,” foreign secretary Vikram Misri said at a press briefing, referring to the deadly attack in Pahalgam last month.
The operation comes amid heightened tensions after Indian intelligence agencies flagged imminent threats from Pakistan-based terror groups. “Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending,” Misri noted.
He also emphasized that India acted after seeing “no demonstrable” steps from Pakistan to address the situation.
