- Khawaja Asif claimed Pakistan's cyber warriors shut off IPL floodlights in India.
- His statement referred to a May 8 match canceled due to a power outage in Dharamshala.
- The claim followed India's Operation Sindoor, a military strike targeting terror activities.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has yet again attracted trolls online with his bizarre statements - this time with a "hacking IPL floodlights" claim.
Speaking in the Pakistani assembly, Mr Asif claimed that his country's "cyber warriors" had shut off the lights in a cricket stadium in India during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match. He was possibly referring to the May 8 IPL match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals in Dharamshala - which was cancelled midway after a power outage caused by a technical failure in the area. This was also a day after India launched Operation Sindoor, a targeted military strike on terror attacks in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.
"India does not understand that all of this is entirely Pakistan's indigenous technology. Our cyber warriors launched attacks on India, shut off lights in a cricket stadium in India - lights went out and the IPL match was stopped, water was released from Indian dams, their electricity grid was shut down," Mr Asif claimed.
He added, "All these attacks, the cyber attacks, were carried out by our warriors."
The 29-second clip of Mr Asif was widely shared on X, with users trolling him for his bizarre comments.
"I didn't know Cyber has different concepts and syllabus in Pakistan!" a user wrote.
Another said, "Just so you know-IPL floodlights don't run on WiFi, they run on secure electrical systems. You can't hack them like a home router. Claiming a "cyber attack" for switching off stadium lights just proves one thing-you clearly did your schooling in a madarsa, not a science class. Next time, try hacking the scoreboard-at least it has buttons."
One user said, "If switching off lights is a cyber triumph, then my 3 year old nephew is a global threat he once unplugged the Wi-Fi during a Zoom meeting."
"From battlefield bluster to stadium lights Pakistan's "cyber strike" sounds more like a comedy script than a strategic win," another wrote.
This is not the first time Mr Asif has found himself being trolled online.
Days after Operation Sindoor, Mr Asif was asked to substantiate Pakistan's claim that its air force shot down five Indian fighter planes. The anchor asked the Pakistan Defence Minister, "Where is the evidence?" - to this, he replied confidently: "It's all over social media".
The anchor, visibly surprised, responded, "You are the Defence Minister. The reason to talk to you today, Sir, is not to talk about content all over social media. I am asking you very specifically for the evidence."
He, then, failed to substantiate his claims.
