Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday escalated tensions with a controversial warning that Pakistan would “take it to Kolkata” if India attempted any “false flag operation”. His remarks came shortly after Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh cautioned India’s “neighbours” against undertaking any “misadventure”, without directly naming Pakistan.## **Asif links warning to alleged false flag concerns**Speaking to reporters in his hometown Sialkot, Asif alleged that India could use detained Pakistanis to stage a fabricated incident.
“If India tries to stage any false flag operation this time, then God willing, we will take it to Kolkata,” he said, as reported by PTI. He further claimed that India might plant bodies and later label them terrorists, adding that Pakistan would respond by escalating its retaliation eastward.Asif’s comments were issued against the backdrop of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s strong message delivered in Kerala on Thursday. Singh, addressing a Sainik Samman Sammelan in the poll-bound state, warned that India’s neighbour was capable of attempting misadventures amid heightened regional tensions following Israeli-US strikes on Iran earlier this year.
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He emphasised that if provoked, India’s response would be both “unprecedented and decisive”.Singh also referred to Operation Sindoor, launched in May last year after terrorists attacked civilians in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in a targeted strike that he said threatened India’s social unity.
The Indian military action hit terror infrastructure inside Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, triggering a four-day confrontation during which Pakistan deployed drones and missiles.The Pakistani minister’s latest remarks add a new layer of strain to the already fraught ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. While India has not officially responded to Asif’s statements, Singh’s earlier warning signals New Delhi’s readiness to counter any provocation with force
