Pakistan Claims its “Cyber Warriors” Hacked Dharamshala Stadium Lights, Opened Gates of Indian Dams
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 16: In a bizarre statement once again making himself a laughing stock before the world, the Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that the Pakistani “cyber warriors” hacked the floodlights in a cricket stadium forcing suspension of an IPL match and got water released from Indian dams.
Speaking in the Pakistani assembly, Mr Asif claimed that his country’s “cyber warriors” had shut off the lights in a cricket stadium in India during an Indian Premier League (IPL) match. He also claimed that “water was released from Indian dams, their electricity grid was shut down.”
He was possibly referring to the IPL 2025 match between Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamshala which was called off on Thursday after just 10.1 overs of action. The match was cancelled midway after a power outage caused by a technical failure in the area. This was also a day after India launched Operation Sindoor, a targeted military strike on terror attacks in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack which claimed the lives of 26 tourists.
Later, in an official statement, BCCI revealed the decision was taken due to a power outage caused by a significant technical failure in the area and regretted the inconvenience caused to the in-stadium attendees. Before their official statement, reports claimed that the floodlights went dim at the venue midway due to security reasons following air raid alerts in nearby areas amid escalating tensions on the India-Pakistan border, which forced a blackout in the hill town.
“India does not understand that all of this is entirely Pakistan’s indigenous technology. Our cyber warriors launched attacks on India, shut off lights in a cricket stadium in India – lights went out and the IPL match was stopped. He added, “All these attacks, the cyber attacks, were carried out by our warriors.”
Mr Asif’s comments came more than a month after India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, against Pakistan. The 29-second clip of Mr Asif was widely shared on X, with users trolling him for his bizarre comments. “I didn’t know Cyber has different concepts and syllabus in Pakistan!” a user wrote.
Another said, “Just so you know-IPL floodlights don’t run on WiFi, they run on secure electrical systems. You can’t hack them like a home router. Claiming a “cyber attack” for switching off stadium lights just proves one thing-you clearly did your schooling in a madarssa, not a science class. Next time, try hacking the scoreboard-at least it has buttons.”
One user said, “If switching off lights is a cyber triumph, then my 3 year old nephew is a global threat, he once unplugged the Wi-Fi during a Zoom meeting.” “From battlefield bluster to stadium lights Pakistan’s “cyber strike” sounds more like a comedy script than a strategic win,” another wrote. “Even China and the USA are asking – How did Pakistanis do this magic?” another one commented.
This is not the first time Mr Asif has found himself being trolled online. Days after Operation Sindoor, Mr Asif was asked to substantiate Pakistan’s claim that its air force shot down five Indian fighter planes. The anchor asked the Pakistan Defence Minister, “Where is the evidence?” – to this, he replied confidently: “It’s all over social media”.
The anchor, visibly surprised, responded, “You are the Defence Minister. The reason to talk to you today, Sir, is not to talk about content all over social media. I am asking you very specifically for the evidence.” He, then, failed to substantiate his claims.
