A fresh controversy has erupted over remarks made by former Pakistan high commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, in which he suggested that Islamabad could target Indian cities in a hypothetical situation if the United States were to attack Pakistan.
His remarks come amid already heightened tensions in the region, months after India launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir that led to the deaths of 26 civilians.
During a discussion on a hypothetical conflict, Basit said that if the United States were to attack Pakistan, Islamabad would target several Indian cities “without a second thought”.
“If America attacks Pakistan, we have to attack India. Our missiles may not reach America, but we will attack Mumbai and New Delhi in India without a second thought. We won’t leave it, we’ll see what happens later,” he said in an interview with a local TV channel.
India is yet to comment on the former Pakistan envoy's recent statement. Although he described it as a “worst-case scenario”, the remark sparked a row for its direct reference to possible strikes on major Indian cities.
Notably, he served as Pakistan’s top diplomat in India from 2014 to 2017, a time when ties between the two countries remained tense.
