In what has been a long known open secret, Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif finally admitted that his country has had a history of backing, supporting and funding terrorist groups for decades.
In an interview to UK-based Sky News amid escalation between India and Pakistan, Asif said that Pakistan has been doing this "dirty work" for the United States for over 30 years.
Pahalgam terror attack: Live updates
Asked about Pakistan’s role in funding terrorists, Asif said: "We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades, and West, including Britain."
He added that Pakistan's decision was a "mistake" and it suffered for that.
"If we had not joined the war against Soviet Union, and later on, the war after 9/11 ... Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable," he said.
Calling out the United States for blaming Pakistan over terror activities, Asif said: "It was convenient for the big powers to blame Pakistan, which 'fought' the wars on their side in the 80s against the Soviet Union. All these terrorists of today were whining and dining in Washington."
He added that even US used terrorists as "proxies" to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.
India has long accused Pakistan of supporting and aiding terrorist organisations and using them as proxies to cause unrest in Jammu & Kashmir.
The responsibility for the Pahalgam attack was claimed by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
In the aftermath of the heinous attack, which left 26 dead, India announced a series of diplomatic actions against Pakistan, including the suspension of Indus Water Treaty.
It said that these actions will remain in force until Pakistan "credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism."
Earlier, Asif had claimed that Pakistan has "no link with the Pahalgam terror attack”.
In his interview to Sky News, Asif said that the tense situation could lead to an "all-out war" between India and Pakistan in case of further escalation.
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