Speaking to Reuters earlier in the day at his office in Islamabad, Asif said: “We have reinforced our forces because it is something which is imminent now. So, in that situation, some strategic decisions have to be taken, so those decisions have been taken.”
He explained that, with India’s rhetoric ramping up, the Pakistani military had briefed the government on the possibility of an Indian attack, though he did not elaborate on specific intelligence or assessments leading to this view.
Asif stressed that Pakistan remained on high alert but would only consider using its nuclear arsenal if there were a “direct threat to our existence.”
In a separate interview on a private news channel, he said: “We should be mentally prepared there is a war looming on the horizon. The possibility is there, a very vivid possibility that we can have war in the next day or two or three or four.”
However, questioned later about his remarks during another interview on a different news channel, Asif said his comments had been misinterpreted. “I think it has been misinterpreted on some other channel. I have already talked to them and I have not said anything like this,” he clarified. “They (the channel) asked me what are the chances of war, so I said that the next two to three days were crucial.”
He explained that his statement should not be taken as a categorical prediction of war beginning within days but rather a reflection that “the upcoming days would be crucial.” He added that channel in question was in the process of making the necessary corrections.
While reaffirming that “danger is looming,” Asif maintained he had not suggested that conflict was inevitable. He further noted that other countries in the region were actively working to de-escalate tensions and avert any contentious developments.
“Pakistan is 100 per cent ready to face any combat situation if the country’s sovereignty is threatened or war imposed on it,” he said. Reiterating his earlier point, Asif concluded that while the possibility of conflict in the coming days existed, efforts were underway to prevent such an outcome.