logo
Ex-AJK president rejects India's 'ICBM hype'

Ex-AJK president rejects India's 'ICBM hype'

Express Tribune07-07-2025
Former Azad Jammu and Kashmir President and Pakistan's ex-ambassador to the United States, Sardar Masood Khan, has sharply criticised what he termed as "baseless and politically charged" Indian efforts to portray Pakistan as a threat in the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) domain.
In an exclusive interview with a news network, Khan dismissed recent allegations linking Pakistan to intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) development as fabricated and politically motivated distortions. He claimed the narrative is being deliberately amplified by Indian intelligence agencies and media outlets as part of a broader campaign to undermine Pakistan's strategic credibility and disrupt its growing relationship with Washington.
Khan pointed to a recent article in Foreign Affairs that mentioned Pakistan's missile programme only briefly, noting that the focus was primarily on nations such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.
"Despite being referenced in just one paragraph, Indian actors have inflated this into a full-fledged disinformation drive," Khan said, calling the move "an act of narrative desperation."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Sikh repression
Sikh repression

Express Tribune

time38 minutes ago

  • Express Tribune

Sikh repression

Today, Washington DC is hosting the next phase of the Khalistan Referendum being organised by Sikhs for Justice. Thousands are expected to participate, sending a message that New Delhi's efforts to silence the diaspora have failed. For the global Sikh community, the ballot remains the answer to Indian aggression. No UN member state has criminalised these exercises as it is protected under Article 1 of the UN Charter. Democracies too have defended them as legitimate political expression, rejecting India's efforts to brand them as terrorism. New Delhi's response has been increasingly heavy-handed. In June 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared "credible links" of Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Soon after, activist Avtar Singh Khanda died under suspicious circumstances in the UK. In the US, prosecutors charged RAW operatives in a foiled plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Similar networks were uncovered in other countries, where Indian operatives spied on and intimidated Sikh activists. India has also pressed for extraditions of referendum leaders, but Western courts have rejected these attempts, citing insufficient evidence and political motivation. Efforts to block referendum content on digital platforms have equally failed, with Google, YouTube and X refusing Indian demands. Instead, the diaspora has leveraged these spaces to mobilise voters. Meanwhile, the opening of a Sikh embassy in Canada has provided the movement with new diplomatic momentum. Driven by a global community of over 25 million, the Khalistan cause has grown into a broad-based diaspora campaign. Many activists now argue that India's tactics mirror colonial patterns of control over minorities, while its branding of dissent as terrorism reflects a slide towards authoritarianism. By resorting to covert operations and censorship, India risks further isolation. Democracies that once sought closer ties with New Delhi now find themselves compelled to expose its activities and protect political freedoms on their soil.

Chinese FM to visit India to resolve border dispute
Chinese FM to visit India to resolve border dispute

Express Tribune

time9 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Chinese FM to visit India to resolve border dispute

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' meeting during the 58th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers' meeting and related meetings at the Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur on July 11, 2025. Photo: Reuters Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit India from Monday to Wednesday, China's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, for talks about a disputed border in the Himalayas. This is only the second such meeting since a deadly clash in 2020 between Indian and Chinese troops at the border. Relations between the two Asian giants have been thawing since an agreement last October on patrolling their Himalayan border, easing a five-year standoff that had hurt trade, investment and air travel. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month when he travels to China - his first visit in seven years - to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security bloc. Also Read: India seeks to normalise ties with China India and China share a 3,800 km (2,400 miles) border that is poorly demarcated and has been disputed since the 1950s. The two countries fought a brief but brutal border war in 1962, and decades of talks have made limited progress. Relations between the two countries boosted in recent weeks amid new tensions in India-US ties after decades of progress, analysts said, as Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports to the United States - one of the highest levels among Washington's strategic partners. The United States and China, meanwhile, previous week extended a tariff truce for another 90 days, staving off triple-digit duties on each other's goods. China and India have already agreed to resume direct flights suspended since 2020 and are discussing easing trade barriers, including reopening border trade at three Himalayan crossings.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to visit India from Monday, China's foreign ministry says
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to visit India from Monday, China's foreign ministry says

Business Recorder

time14 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to visit India from Monday, China's foreign ministry says

BEIJING: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi will visit India from Monday to Wednesday, China's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, for talks about a disputed border in the Himalayas. This is only the second such meeting since a deadly clash in 2020 between Indian and Chinese troops at the border. Relations between the two Asian giants have been thawing since an agreement last October on patrolling their Himalayan border, easing a five-year standoff that had hurt trade, investment and air travel. India's Modi to visit China for first time in 7 years as tensions with US rise Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping at the end of the month when he travels to China - his first visit in seven years - to attend the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a regional security bloc.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store