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Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif on Friday said that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) does not “does not exist anymore in Pakistan".

His remarks came after India took a series of strong measures against Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives.  The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founded by Hafiz Saeed, has claimed responsibility of the attack.

Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack is still living in Pakistan.

“The reaction that came from Delhi was not surprising for us, we could make out that this whole thing was staged to create some sort of crisis in the region, particularly for us,” Asif told  Britain’s Sky News.

Asif also claimed that he had never heard of The Resistance Front.

“Our government has condemned it categorically. Pakistan has been the victim of terrorism for decades. But this sort of pattern is going on in India. This time again, the people who are being accused (of attacking) are not known. Never heard of that organisation," he said.

When asked if he was blaming India for the Pahalgam attack on its own citizens, he agreed.  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely, they create these situations...They never came up with any evidence. They create a situation for their own advantage. Lashar does not exist in Pakistan anymore. Our intelligence agencies say it’s all staged. It was staged in Pulwama also," said the Pakistan minister.

Asif also recalled airstrikes by India in 2019 in Balakot and dubbed it a “false flag operation".

“This has happened before, also, Pulwama. It was a false flag operation. We have never heard the organisation that’s behind this attack. If India attacks us, we will retaliate in kind," he said.

Asif was also asked if he agreed that Pakistan has a long history of “supporting, training, and funding terrorist organisations". Asif responded in affirmative. “Well, we have been doing this dirty work for United States for 3 decades," he said.

India announced a raft of measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, the expulsion of Pakistani military attaches and the immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post.

Pakistan has rejected India’s suspension of the treaty and said any measures to stop the flow of water “belonging to Pakistan" under the pact will be seen as an “act of war".

India has also revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals from April 27.

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