New Delhi: Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif has again become the ridicule of netizens after he claimed that hackers from the country interfered in an Indian Premiere League (IPL) 2025 match by shutting down the floodlights of the cricketing field. Asif, who is known to make unverified and often outrageous claims was brutally trolled by netizens.
Asif asserted that Pakistan’s “cyber warriors” shut off the lights in a cricket stadium in India, during an IPL match. He was probably referring to the May 8 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals that was cancelled midway after a power outage due to some technical failure. It happened the same day India launched “Operation Sindoor”. The operation was launched in response to Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, where 26 unsuspecting people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists. In response India attacked nine terror locations across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
“India does not understand that all of this is entirely Pakistan’s indigenous technology. Our cyber warriors launched attacks on India, shut off lights in a cricket stadium in India – lights went out and the IPL match was stopped, water was released from Indian dams, their electricity grid was shut down,” Mr Asif claimed.
Speaking in the national assembly, Asif further said, “India does not understand that all of this is entirely Pakistan’s indigenous technology. Our cyber warriors launched attacks on India, shut off lights in a cricket stadium in India – lights went out and the IPL match was stopped, water was released from Indian dams, their electricity grid was shut down.”
Netizens troll Asif
Asif’s comments invited mockery across social media. A user commented, “I didn’t know Cyber has different concepts and syllabus in Pakistan!” Another said, “If switching off lights is a cyber triumph, then my 3 year old nephew is a global threat he once unplugged the Wi-Fi during a Zoom meeting.”
Pakistan’s Defence Minister claims they hacked IPL floodlights and opened India’s dams through cyberattacks.
Bro, your country can’t even keep the lights on in Islamabad without IMF loans — sit down and charge your own batteries first. pic.twitter.com/WYRptHFmMB
— 𝐃𝐎 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬 (@donewstoday) June 14, 2025
Another netizen commented, “From battlefield bluster to stadium lights Pakistan’s “cyber strike” sounds more like a comedy script than a strategic win.”
Another user commented on X, “Just so you know IPL floodlights don’t run on WiFi, they run on secure electrical systems. You can’t hack them like a home router. Claiming a “cyber attack” for switching off stadium lights just proves one thing-you clearly did your schooling in a madarsa, not a science class. Next time, try hacking the scoreboard-at least it has buttons.”
Not the first time
It’s not the first time that the Pakistani defence minister has bluffed on matters regarding the India-Pakistan conflict. During “Operation Sindoor”, he made false claims about shooting down Indian fighter planes. He got severely criticized by the anchor afterward.
He claimed that Pakistan had brought down five Indian fighter planes. Although there was no substantial proof to prove the statement, when the anchor asked for the evidence, Asif confidently replied, “It’s all over social media.”
To which the anchor attacked him saying, “You are the defence minister. The reason to talk to you today, Sir, is not to talk about content all over social media. I am asking you very specifically for the evidence.”
The minister failed to provide any further evidence.
