Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister, Attaullah Tarar, was caught off guard during a live TV interview when Sky News anchor Yalda Hakim fact-checked him with evidence from his own government's record of supporting terrorist groups. This happened just hours after India launched targeted strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).

The strikes were in response to a terror attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, India. In a carefully planned military operation, the Indian armed forces carried out attacks on nine targets early Wednesday. These operations, called Operation Sindoor, successfully destroyed infrastructure linked to terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and Hizbul Mujahideen.

During a Sky News appearance, Tarar accused New Delhi of targeting civilian areas. However, Hakim quickly refuted this claim. "The Indian armed forces have said that they only targeted terrorist camps and not Pakistani military facilities," Hakim told the minister. Tarar responded with a flat denial: "Let me make it very clear, there are no terrorist camps in Pakistan. Pakistan is a victim of terrorism. We are the frontline state against terrorism."

Hakim quickly responded by pointing to a revealing statement made just a few days earlier by Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. "On my programme, just a week ago, your Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admitted that Pakistan has for decades had a policy of funding, backing, using terrorist groups as proxies in the country," Hakim said.

"In 2018, President Donald Trump cut military aid to Pakistan because he accused Pakistan of playing a double game." She continued, "So when you say there’re no terrorist camps in Pakistan, that is going against what Gen Parvez Musharraf said, what Benazir Bhutto said and what your defence minister said just a week ago." Tarar struggled to respond before doubling down, "Pakistan is the guarantor of world peace." He then extended an invitation to Hakim to visit the country.

"I have been to Pakistan," Hakim replied. "And we know that Osama Bin Laden was discovered in Abbottabad in Pakistan." Tarar said Pakistan would protect its land and was preparing a response to the missile strikes, calling India a "provocator and aggressor." Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan, denounced India's military action as an "act of war" as tensions rose and promised a "befitting reply."

The Pakistan Army reported that missile strikes on cities in Punjab and POK killed at least eight people and injured 35 others. However, sources from the Indian military stated that the operation resulted in the neutralisation of at least 80 terrorists.