Khawaja Asif, the Defence Minister of Pakistan, has made a dramatic threat that India would be ‘buried under the wreckage of its warplanes’ in response to what he called provocative statements from Indian military and political leaders.
In May 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor in response to a terror attack in Pahalgam (April 22), targeting terror infrastructure across the border. India has said that it destroyed several Pakistani installations and downed multiple Pakistani aircraft; Pakistan has counter-claims but little verifiable evidence. India’s leadership has warned that past restraint will not be repeated and any future provocations would draw a harsher response. In this charged atmosphere, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued his remarks reacting to India’s recent statements.
What Khawaja Asif said
In a post on X, as reported by Samaa TV, Asif described recent Indian security statements as attempts to ‘restore their lost credibility’ after suffering setbacks. He claimed that the political pressure in India had forced its leaders to make bold claims, and said:
“After such a decisive 6-0 defeat, if they try again, the score will only get better.”
Asif invoked religion in his threat:
“Pakistan is a state built in the name of Allah, our defenders are soldiers of Allah. This time, India, Inshallah, will be buried under the wreckage of its planes. Allahu Akbar.”
He also accused the Modi government of stoking tensions to distract from domestic issues and political backlash.
India’s response and warnings
Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi warned that India would not maintain the same restraint it showed during Operation Sindoor if provoked again. He challenged Pakistan to decide ‘whether it wants to be in geography or not’.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also warned Pakistan against misadventures in strategic regions like Sir Creek, saying India would respond decisively.
Air Marshal Amar Preet Singh said India shot down 12-13 Pakistani fighters, including 5 F-16s and J-17s, during the May clashes and dismissed Pakistan’s counterclaims as ‘interesting stories’.
The Indian command continues to assert that future retaliation will be far sterner.
Pakistan military’s reaction
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of Pakistan criticised the Indian statements, calling them delusional, provocative and jingoistic. They warned such rhetoric might manufacture pretexts for aggression. The Pakistan Army issued a statement cautioning that any fresh conflict could bring ‘cataclysmic devastation’ and pledged to respond ‘swift, decisive and destructive.
The Army also said that threats of erasing Pakistan from the map would be met with a mutual erasure.
Khawaja Asif’s dramatic warning that India would be ‘buried under the wreckage of its warplanes’ marks a dangerous intensification of the rhetoric between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. India has responded with stern warnings of far sterner retaliation and Pakistan’s military has vowed to respond without restraint. The region now sits on a knife’s edge, any further escalation could have dire consequences for South Asian security and beyond.