'We don't attend their funeral': Pak Defence Minister Khawaja Asif slams country's apathy towards fallen soldiers

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking in the parliament, expressed disappointment over the lack of honour given to the fallen soldiers. In a poignant address, Asif remarked, “We don’t even attend their funerals.” The country has a history of deflecting, be it internal conflicts in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or even with neighbouring India.

Anonymous status to Pakistan soldiers killed in action

During the 1999 Kargil war, Islamabad refused to accept that their soilders were killed in action, they remained firm on their stance that those involved in the conflict were Kashmiri “freedom fighters”. Over a decade later, names of 453 personnel were acknowledged and officially listed on the army website.

In November 2010, in a silent move, the Pakistan Army updated the "Shuhada" (martyrs) section of its website. This addition included names of troops from the Kargil war from the Northern Light Infantry (NLI).

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Also read: How IAF fighter jets supported Indian Army during Kargil War

Selective attendance at funerals

While the defence minister admitted that state officials often skip funerals of their soldiers, a contrasting scene had unfolded in May 2025. Following the launch of Operation Sindoor, in which India targeted terror hubs and eliminated over 100 terrorists, Pakistan claimed civilians were killed. What sketched an obscure picture was a visual from a funeral at Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) headquarters in Pakistan's Muridke, alongside Abdul Rauf, a proscribed terrorist, were Pakistan army personnel.

The coffins at the funeral were seen wrapped in Pakistan's national flag, which indicated the deceased were being accorded state honours. As Islamabad claimed, Indian strikes killed civilians. In a briefing, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held a photo and said, "It's also odd that funerals of civilians are being carried out with coffins wrapped in their national flag, and state honours are being accorded. The individuals eliminated at these facilities were terrorists."