3 hours ago
Last Updated:May 01, 2025, 23:14 IST
Yalda Hakim said that a lot of people wrote to her and said that her jaw dropped when Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif made the stunning terror revelation.
Journalist Yalda Hakim's interview with Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif went viral in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attacks. (IMAGE: AFP)
Sky News anchor Yalda Hakim’s viral reaction during an interview with Pakistan’s Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif has not only stunned viewers but has also left her amazed.
Yalda revisited the news segment at a podcast with fellow journalist and colleague Richard Engel and both of them revisited the video where Khawaja Asif’s admission that Pakistan harbours terrorists because it was doing the US and British intelligence’s “dirty work".
“A lot of people wrote to me to say ‘your jaw dropped’ when he made the admission," Hakim told Engel in a video of the podcast released by Sky News on Instagram.
Yalda Hakim questioned Asif over Pakistan’s history of funding and backing terrorists, to which the defence minister openly admitted that Pakistan had harboured terrorist groups, claiming it was doing so as part of its involvement in US-led efforts to contain Soviet Russia that had invaded Afghanistan towards the late 80s, few years before it fell apart.
Asif also said that Pakistan was doing the US and the British Intelligence’s “dirty work" for three decades when it was harbouring terrorists.
Commenting on the moment, Hakim tells Engel: “Did you see my face though!"
To this, Engel replied: “It is interesting, you know when they say journalism is the first draft of history… It is nice, when you get a first draft of history".
“When you get a senior official saying ‘ yes, we did this’ and I think it came out inadvertently, because you were talking about current events and they said we did this at the behest of the CIA and British intelligence".
The interview was taken at the backdrop of the attacks on tourists in Pahalgam by Pakistan-trained terrorists, who in a deadly ambush killed 26 civilians, most of them tourists sightseeing in Baisaran.
Hakim’s interview was also discussed at the UN.
India’s deputy permanent representative at the UN Yojna Patel on Monday said the confession did not surprise anyone and exposed Pakistan as a “rogue state" that has been fuelling global terrorism.
“It is unfortunate that one particular delegation has chosen to misuse and undermine this forum to indulge in propaganda and make baseless allegations against India. The whole world has heard Pakistan’s defence minister Khwaja Asif admitting and confessing Pakistan’s history of supporting, training and funding terrorist organisations in a recent television interview. This open confession surprises no one and exposes Pakistan as a rogue state fuelling global terrorism and destabilising the region. The world can no longer turn a blind eye," Yojna Patel said.
Location :London, United Kingdom (UK)
First Published:News world ‘Jaw Dropped’: Journo Recalls Viral Moment Khawaja Asif Admitted To Pakistan’s ‘Dirty Work’
