'Will strike Kolkata if…': Pakistan defence minister escalates rhetoric after Rajnath's 'decisive action' warning

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday warned that Islamabad could target Kolkata in response to any future escalation with India.

“If India tries to stage any false flag operation this time, then God-willingly, we will take it to Kolkata,” he said while speaking to reporters in Sialkot.

He alleged that there were plans involving a possible false-flag operation but did not provide evidence to support the claim, saying such a scenario could involve “their own men or through the Pakistanis in their detention by laying down some bodies somewhere and saying ‘they were terrorists and had done so and so’.”

The remarks came days after Asif said Pakistan’s response to any attack would be “swift, calibrated, and decisive.” He was responding to comments by India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who had said that any “misadventure” from India’s neighbour would invite an “unprecedented and decisive” action.

The fresh rhetoric comes nearly a year after a four-day conflict between the two countries in 2025.

Pakistan’s latest statement is also in line with earlier signalling from its military establishment. In August 2025, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, said in an interview with The Economist that Pakistan would strike “deeper within India” and “start from the east” if India carried out military action similar to Operation Sindoor.

Responding to a question on future escalation scenarios, he said, “They also need to understand that they can be hit everywhere.”