New Delhi: Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday said that in case a war breaks out then the madrassa students would serve as the country’s second line of defence. The statement was made during a Parliament session in Islamabad amid the intensified atmosphere created between India and Pakistan.
This comes a day after India retaliated with drone strikes on multiple locations in Pakistan.
“As far as Madrassas or Madrassa students are concerned. there’s no doubt they are our second line of defence, the youngsters who are studying there,” Khawaja Asif said in the Parliament.
“When the time comes, they will be used as needed 100 per cent,” he added.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister drops the mask:
“Madrassa students are our second line of defence and can be used for any purpose.”
Let that sink in. A nuclear state openly admits grooming children for war.pic.twitter.com/PK7pAog01O
— Riccha Dwivedi (@RicchaDwivedi) May 9, 2025
Asif further explained the lawmakers on the reason why Pakistan forces did not intercepted the Indian drone attack on Thursday (May 8). This was a contradiction to a previous claim made by the Pakistan Army that they thwarted the projectiles fired by India.
“The drone attack was mounted to detect our locations. It’s a technical thing that I can’t explain. We didn’t intercept the drones, so that the location of our aerial defence units won’t get leaked,” Asif said.
Asif has been flashed with backlash for not proving substantial evidence to back the claims that Pakistan had shot down five Indian jets during India’s Operation Sindoor on May 7.
When an American news channel anchor questioned the Pakistan Defence Minister over the claims, he referred to social media visuals.
“It is all on social media, and Indian social media, not our social media. The debris of the jets fell on their side. It is all over the Indian media,” Asif told CNN.
The CNN anchor rebuked Asif over using social media as an official evidence. This wasn’t the first time Khawaja made a controversial statement. He had admitted, in interview to Sky News, that Pakistan has been doing this dirty work (of funding and supporting terror groups) for the United States for about three decades.
