'India United Only Under Aurangzeb': Pak's Khawaja Asif's Provocative Remark

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has made yet another baseless claim, saying India was "never truly united" except under the rule of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb -- a statement that easily crumbles under the weight of basic historical facts. In an interview with Pakistan's Samaa TV, Asif also said that “chances of war with India are real."

His remarks came days after India warned Islamabad against backing state-sponsored terrorism or face losing its geographical presence.

On India's History

"History shows that India was never one united nation, except briefly under Aurangzeb. Pakistan was created in the name of Allah. At home, we argue and compete. But in a fight with India, we come together," Asif said in the television interview.

For over seven decades since independence from British colonisers, India has remained a stable and unified democracy, unlike Pakistan, which has seen multiple military coups and internal splits.

"Chances of war with India are real and I am not denying that": Khawaja Asif, PaK Def Min

"History shows that India was never one united nation, except briefly under Aurangzeb. Pakistan was created in the name of Allah. At home we argue and compete. In a fight with India we… pic.twitter.com/e1yAxSTSSx

— OsintTV 📺 (@OsintTV) October 8, 2025

Even before that, the Maurya Empire from 322 to 185 BCE unified most of the Indian subcontinent into one state. It was one of the largest empires to ever exist in the Indian subcontinent. Much later, Samudragupta of the Gupta dynasty and Harshavardhana of the Pushyabhuti dynasty also brought political unity to large parts of ancient India.

Under the Mughal rule, in terms of territorial extent, Aurangzeb's reign saw the empire expand to cover almost the entire Indian subcontinent. However, his reign was marked by endless wars and rebellions, unlike Akbar's rule, which also saw great consolidation with stability.

On War With India

Asif claimed the chances of war with India are real. "I do not want escalation, but the risks are real, and I am not denying that. If it comes to war, God willing, we will achieve a better result than before," he said.

The comments came amid rising tensions between the two nuclear-powered nations. Last week, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi issued a fierce warning to Pakistan, saying, "Either stop supporting terrorism or get ready to lose its geographical presence."

"India is fully prepared this time. We will not show the restraint we exhibited during Operation Sindoor 1.0. This time, the action will be such that Pakistan will have to think whether it wants to exist geographically," he said.

Khawaja Asif's Bizarre Claims

Khawaja Asif has a history of embarrassing Pakistan on global platforms. Last month, he gave a bizarre solution to tackle Pakistan's flood situation. He asked Pakistanis living in low-lying areas to "store" the floodwater in containers, rather than letting it go to drains. He also asked people to see the flooding as a "blessing".

During Operation Sindoor, he had exposed Pakistan's misinformation campaign after India destroyed nine terror sites. During an interview with CNN, Asif tried to spread fake news about Pakistan shooting down Indian fighter jets during the strike. When asked for proof, he attributed it to social media.

"It's all over social media, on Indian social media, not just our social media. The debris of these jets fell into Kashmir," he claimed.

The CNN anchor Becky Anderson quickly interjected, saying, "I'm sorry, we didn't ask you here to talk about social media content."