Overview
- Khawaja Asif, speaking Saturday in Sialkot, said Pakistan would "take it to Kolkata" if India staged a false-flag operation, naming the eastern metropolis to signal reach deep inside India.
- Asif alleged India could use detainees and planted bodies to fabricate an incident, yet he offered no proof, and multiple outlets noted the lack of evidence.
- His remarks followed Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s warning days earlier that any misadventure would draw an unprecedented and decisive response, referencing India’s 2025 Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam attack.
- Pakistani reports from The Express Tribune cited unnamed sources claiming Indian authorities were moving Pakistani detainees for a staged plot, a claim not corroborated in public records.
- Indian media coverage ridiculed the Kolkata threat and reported no formal government response, while prior Pakistani military signaling about striking deeper into India, including from the east, underlines the escalation risk.