Former Indian foreign secretary says Western reporting on India-Pakistan escalation ‘one-sided’

(MENAFN) Former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal has criticized the Western media for what he describes as biased and distorted reporting on the recent military tensions between India and Pakistan. In an interview with RT, Sibal claimed the media failed to properly highlight the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir that triggered the escalation, instead focusing on broader geopolitical issues.

On Saturday, India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire following days of cross-border hostilities that began after a deadly attack in late April. U.S. President Donald Trump said that Washington helped broker the truce, a claim Sibal dismissed as the U.S. trying to "take diplomatic credit" for a situation India never intended to escalate further.

Sibal criticized international news outlets for presenting a "one-sided" narrative, arguing they overlooked the root cause — the terrorist attack — and instead shifted focus to ongoing India-Pakistan tensions. He accused the Western press of having a "soft spot" for Pakistan, despite its widely acknowledged ties to terrorist groups. He cited Osama bin Laden’s long-term presence in Pakistan as an example.

He also revealed that India had formally objected to certain language used by outlets like the BBC, Reuters, and Associated Press, especially regarding the labeling of the attackers as "militants" rather than terrorists.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif blamed the West for introducing jihadist ideologies during the Soviet-Afghan war, claiming that foreign policies were the root of his country’s terror issues. Islamabad has denied any involvement in the Jammu and Kashmir attack, while India maintains that members of the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility, included Pakistani nationals.

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