'Madrassa Students Will Be Used As Second Line Of Defence': Pakistan's Khawaja Asif Amid Tensions With India

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif (File photo/ AP)

Amid escalating tensions with India, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday declared that the students studying in Madrassas will be the nation's second line of defence, when the time comes. His remarks came when he was addressing the Parliament session, a day after India's retaliatory drone strikes across 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. When the time comes, they will be used as needed 100 per cent," Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

In the assembly, Asif also attempted to save face on the Indian drone strikes, saying that they were not intercepted to prevent locations from being "leaked". "Yesterday, the drone attack by India was done to detect our locations. I cannot explain technical things, but we did not intercept their drones, so that our locations are not located or leaked," he said.

Pakistan's Second Escalation In 24 Hours

Days after India's Operation Sindoor , which dismantled Pakistan's terror camps, the rattled nation launched a barrage of missile and drone attacks in several parts of Jammu & Kashmir and border states on May 8, in an attempt to target the Jammu air base, an army installation, the Jammu University, and other critical civilian infrastructure.

The Indian Army successfully intercepted and neutralised these attacks, while the Border Security Force (BSF) also foiled a major infiltration attempt in the Samba sector.

In retaliation, India launched a strong counteroffensive, neutralising Pakistan's air defence radars and systems across multiple locations, including Lahore, Sialkot, Karachi, and Islamabad. Five Pakistan jets were also brought down—two JF-17s, one F-16, and one unidentified aircraft—amid the nation's repeated provocations along the border.