Is Imran Khan’s X account operated from India? Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif makes BIG statement, says ‘cannot publicly..’

Pakistan and India(BHARAT) have had a troubled relationship over the years. With an abysmal record of democracy and a failing record of human rights violations, Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, has defended the country’s ‘hybrid model’ in which the army and civilian leadership work seamlessly to govern the country. Mehdi Hasan, a British-American journalist, told Khawaja Asif that in Pakistan, the most powerful institution is the army, and the most powerful person is the Army Chief, Asim Munir.

What did Khawaja Asif say about Pakistan’s hybrid model of governance?

When asked by Hasan, “It’s a strange system you have in Pakistan. I think you’ve called it a hybrid model- where the military and civilian leaders effectively share power. But the military leaders are really the ones in charge, are they not? In most countries, the head of the army answers to the defence minister. In your country you, the defence minister, answer to the head of the army, don’t you? Asim Munir is a more powerful person than you are.” Khawaja Asif refused, saying, “No, it’s not like that… I’m a political appointee, I’m a political worker, you know.”

Where does the power struggle between Pakistan’s army and civilian leaders play out?

During the interview, Mehdi Hasan asked Khawaja Asif about power-sharing, “So it’s equal? You and Asim Munir disagree on something, who gets the last word? Let’s say you want to go left and he wants to go right. Who wins that argument?” Pakistan’s Defence Minister responded by calling the decision-making process to be based on consensus. “It’s not equal… We can agree to disagree. It is by consensus, whatever is taking place…”

What did Khawaja Asif say about US democracy?

During the interview, Asif called US democracy a “deep state”-influenced system. “When confronted with the example of how in the US, Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of War, has the power to fire American generals, but the same cannot be said for Pakistan, Asif stated, saying, “They (US) have a different model over here. It’s called deep state.”On Hasan further saying, “In your country (Pakistan) the deep state’s in charge. That’s what the accusation is”, Asif put the blame on past leadership, stating, “You can say that because of our military rulers-it is more visible.”

What did Khawaja Asif say about Imran Khan’s X account?

During the interview, Khawaja Asif was asked about the relationship between ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan and India(BHARAT). Asif stated that Khan’s ex-Twitter account was being operated from inside Adiala Jail, where he has been in jail since 2023. When Hasan challenged him about his earlier comments about the account being run from India(BHARAT), Asif couldn’t defend his position. Asif stated, “He is operating a Twitter account from the jail cell.”

Hasan interrupted him, stating, “You said he was operating from India(BHARAT) the other day… You said India(BHARAT) is controlling his Twitter account… You just made two different allegations. Is it Imran in his prison cell or is it India(BHARAT)?” The Defence Minister replied, “Either he is operating from the cell or he should at least identify who is operating the jail cell.”

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Asif backed up his assertions by citing “intelligence sources” that he refused to identify by name and offered no evidence. “The evidence I cannot publicly disclose,” he said. Hasan then asked why he would make such a statement if he could not provide any evidence, to which Asif insisted, “No, because it is there.” Under further questioning, he added, “Yes, based on, obviously, intelligence. Nobody is stating it openly.”

(With ANI Inputs)