Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif found himself in a public contradiction over the running of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s X (previously Twitter) account in an interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan recently.
Asif, previously having accused Khan’s social media being operated from India, had difficulty explaining that fact behind his current claim of Khan operating the account from within Pakistan’s Adiala Jail.
Mehdi Hasan: According to Imran Khan’s lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, the trial was conducted over a WhatsApp call with no audio coming in or going out. Yet, somehow, the proceedings continued.
Khawaja Asif: That’s a lie. Imran Khan is running Twitter from jail.
Mehdi Hasan: But… pic.twitter.com/OEFQ5DgUCA
— Laiba (@thelaibaPTI) September 26, 2025
The Contradiction Over Khan’s X Access
The argument started with Asif, in response to queries over the impartiality of Khan’s trial, asserting, “He (Imran Khan) is running a Twitter (now X) account from Twitter, you know.”
Reporter Mehdi Hasan promptly countered this assertion by drawing the Defence Minister’s attention to his earlier public assertion: “You mentioned that he was known to be based in India the other day. I saw you say so.”
Obviously ruffled, Asif refused to give a straight response, saying “What is the truth then?” Hasan kept him on the spot, highlighting the two contradictory charges: “Is it Imran in his jail cell or is it India?”
The Defence Minister then backed down from the categorical position that, “Either he is working from the cell or he should at least tell us who is working.”
‘Intelligence’ Quoted For India Claim
When questioned by Hasan to show proof for the serious accusation that Khan’s X account was being run from India, Asif was reluctant.
“I cannot publicly reveal the evidence,” Asif commented, saying he made the accusation because “it’s there.” He then admitted the accusation was on “obviously, intelligence,” but acknowledged, “nobody is saying it openly.”
On Strategic Ties: China Vs. US
The interview also turned to Pakistan’s foreign policy, specifically with the US and China, two nations Asif commented are at “loggerheads.”
The Defence Minister brushed aside fears that Pakistan’s recent rapprochement with the US would risk undermining its long-standing alliance with Beijing. He described the US relationship as “flirtatious” but reaffirmed China as Pakistan’s fundamental strategic partner.
“In the past, today and even in the future too, China has been an extremely dependable ally, extremely dependable supplier of weapons of every type to us,” Asif asserted. He concluded that China is still the better strategic partner because of the perceived “unreliability of other sources such as the United States of America.”
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