Khawaja Asif slashed his hand across his throat while interrupting an Afghan woman journalist at the 81st UN General Assembly. The exchange happened on the sidelines of the session in New York, where the reporter pressed him on Pakistan's silence regarding the Taliban's treatment of Afghan women. Asif did not answer the question. Instead, he pointed at her attire and warned, "Don't go back like this over there. They will... otherwise they will.." while making the neck-slash motion.
The video went viral within hours. Social media users condemned the gesture as a veiled threat of violence, noting that Asif and the men accompanying him laughed after the remark. The journalist's original question challenged Islamabad's dual stance: why Pakistan, which considers the Taliban friends, had not pressured them to change their policies toward women. The failure to answer, combined with the violent hand signal, turned a diplomatic moment into a public relations disaster.
This diplomatic stumble landed in a powder keg. Early Thursday, Pakistan carried out aerial and drone strikes inside Afghanistan. Federal information minister Atauallah Tarar described the operation as "deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate," targeting 10 locations allegedly used for launching drones. He said the strikes were a response to drones launched from Afghanistan the previous day.
The Taliban government in Kabul reacted with fury. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid called the strikes "blind and cowardly," stating that 28 fighters were killed, most of them former Afghan security personnel. "In this criminal aggression, four of our fellow Afghan compatriots have been martyred," Mujahid said, warning of dire consequences for the "blatant aggression."
Cross-border hostilities between the two neighbours have escalated in recent weeks. With relations already strained by military action and diplomatic friction, Asif's gesture has injected a new layer of tension. The UN General Assembly session continues in New York, but the focus has shifted from multilateral dialogue to the fallout over this viral clip.