‘Sirst’, ‘Riks’: How did netizens react to Pakistan defence minister’s verbal slips at the UN council?

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently addressed the United Nations Security Council's AI Innovation Dialogue, chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. While his speech sought to examine the implications of artificial intelligence in warfare and regional security, including references to India-Pakistan military tensions, it was his repeated verbal slip-ups that drew widespread attention, with netizens even describing the address as 'embarrassing'.

During his speech, Asif mispronounced several words, including 'risk' as 'riks', 'development' as 'developend,' and 'breathtaking pace' as 'breathtaking space.' He also struggled with terms like 'instability,' 'technological disparities,' and 'six pillars,' which became 'six pip-pillars.' These errors led to widespread mockery on social media platforms.

The speech quickly went viral, with netizens sharing clips of the fumbles and offering humorous commentary. One user remarked, "Operation Sindoor shook him," referencing India's military operation and implying the minister was rattled. Others commented, "Arre, kehna kya chahte ho?", a popular meme expressing confusion. Some even compared his delivery to the embarassing performance of Pakistan's cricket team.

Observers noted that his references to India’s Operation Sindoor, a legitimate counter-terror strike, came across as defensive and alarmist rather than constructive. Some user joked, “So raha tha, madam ne ekdam se reading ke liye bol diya class mein 😑😑😑😑 badmos ab pakda gaya 😮‍💨” (He was sleeping, and suddenly the teacher asked him to read in class 😑😑😑😑, the naughty one got caught 😮‍💨). Commenters also observed that the minister’s dependence on AI-written scripts left him unable to understand or explain his own statements. '..if enquired what he said just after, he may not be able to even able to summarize content of his own speech and what it meant😮😂🙏🏼.."

Despite attempting to highlight the risks of artificial intelligence, with reference to the recent tensions between India and Pakistan, Asif’s address did little to inspire confidence. The minister’s repeated stumbles overshadowed the content, giving the impression of a poorly prepared and incoherent argument.

This isn't the first time Asif has attracted attention for controversial statements. Earlier this year, he falsely claimed that Indian jets had been shot down, citing unverified social media content. The misinformation was quickly debunked, casting doubt on his credibility.