Video of Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s Gesture at Afghan Woman Journalist at UNGA Sparks Outrage

Khawaja Asif's UNGA exchange: what the video shows and why it's drawing outrage

September 28, 2026

Clip shows Asif pointing at her clothes and making a hand-across-neck gesture as others laugh

Pakistan’s Khawaja Asif Draws Backlash Over Response to Question on Afghan Women’s Rights

A video showing Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif responding to an Afghan woman journalist at the UN General Assembly has drawn strong criticism on social media, with many users saying his reply appeared to make light of the safety of Afghan women.

According to the video, the journalist asked Asif about Pakistan’s policy towards the Taliban and its position on the rights of Afghan women. She asked whether Pakistan would press the Taliban to change its policies towards women, and why Islamabad had not opposed the group’s treatment of women when it regarded the Taliban as a friend.

What the video shows

In the clip, Asif interrupts the journalist after she raises her questions. He then appears to point towards her clothes and tell her not to return to Afghanistan “like this”. He is also seen drawing his hand across his neck, a gesture that appeared to suggest she could be killed if she returned to Afghanistan dressed that way. People around him can be seen laughing during the exchange.

The description of the gesture rests on how the video appears and how viewers have interpreted it. Asif has not, in the reports reviewed, offered an explanation of what he meant.

An Afghan woman asked #KhawajaAsif a legitimate question about Pakistan’s friendship with Taliban, and Taliban’s treatment of #AfghanWomen, and why #Pakistan did not challenge these policies from the beginning when the #Taliban were considered friends.
His response? Don’t go… pic.twitter.com/cJFVGCbhKB
— Aina Durkhanai آئینه درخانۍ (@khybereena) September 26, 2026

Online reaction

Social media users criticised both the minister and those standing near him. One user who shared the clip wrote that the journalist had asked a legitimate question about Pakistan’s ties with the Taliban and the treatment of Afghan women, and described Asif’s reply as a combination of threat, ridicule and laughter. The user argued that a woman raising the suffering of Afghan women deserved a serious answer, and called the response by a senior minister deeply shameful.

Backdrop of Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions

The exchange comes as relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan remain strained over border tensions, security concerns and allegations of militant activity. Pakistan reportedly carried out airstrikes and drone attacks on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday, September 24. Islamabad said the operation responded to drone attacks originating from Afghanistan and claimed the targets included sites where drones were launched or stored. Afghanistan condemned the strikes as aggression, and Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said four Afghan civilians were killed.

Neither the Pakistani government nor Asif had issued a public response to the criticism at the time of writing.