Tag: Khawaja Asif

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has responded to Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks about Pakistan, calling him a “nasli dalali” while addressing criticism over Islamabad’s reported diplomatic role.

His comments came after Jaishankar, during an all-party meeting on the West Asia crisis, said, “We are not a dalaal (broker) nation,” while referring to Pakistan’s reported involvement in potential United States (US)–Iran talks.

Reacting to the statement, Asif questioned India’s diplomatic record, saying that Jaishankar comes from a family of diplomats and that “dalali (brokerage) is in their blood.”

He said that Pakistan’s role has been to facilitate dialogue and bring parties to the table, adding that such efforts should not be misrepresented.

Referring to India’s past attempts to position itself as a mediator during the Ukraine–Russia war, Asif said those efforts did not produce results and the claims made at the time did not match the ground reality.

He further stated that India’s leadership, including Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and senior ministers, had failed on both diplomatic and military fronts in relation to Pakistan.

Asif added that the image built around India’s leadership had gradually weakened.

Jaishankar had also said there was “nothing new” about Pakistan’s role, adding that the country had been “used” by the United States since 1981.

The remarks came amid reports that Pakistan could host talks between the United States and Iran, with US President Donald Trump indicating support for Islamabad’s involvement.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has issued a strong response to the allegations by the Afghan Taliban regime that Pakistan targeted a hospital in Kabul, stating that those who kill schoolchildren and worshippers in mosques are capable of entering hospitals to kill patients and then blaming Pakistan to gain international sympathy.

Asif took to X to write, “Killers of school children and worshippers in mosques are definitely capable of entering a hospital and killing patients and then blaming Pakistan just to attract international sympathy”.

Earlier, speaking on private media channel talkshow Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that the Afghan Taliban regime must decide whether it stands with terrorists or with Pakistan.

He added that the roots of terrorism in Pakistan trace back to Afghanistan and that strikes were carried out on terrorist hideouts and infrastructure linked to the Afghan Taliban regime.

Tarar said that the Afghan Taliban attempted to build a false narrative that a hospital had been targeted, adding that ammunition was stored at the site that was struck and the resulting explosions confirmed the nature of the target. He added that the objectives of Operation Ghazab- lil-haq were clear.

Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and Nangarhar on the night of March 16, destroying ammunition and technical infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the Afghan interior ministry had claimed that 400 people were killed in an attack on a drug rehabilitation centre, a claim Pakistan has rejected.

In a post on X, Tarar said the Afghan Taliban regime is “peddling yet another falsehood by alleging that Pakistan targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul. This claim is entirely baseless. Pakistan, in its ongoing war against terrorism, is engaging only those military and terrorist targets, along with the infrastructure of the Afghan Taliban regime, that are being directly or indirectly used to plan, facilitate, shelter, train, or abet terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.”

He added that the strikes were “precise, deliberate, and professional,” and that “no hospital, no drug rehabilitation centre, and no civilian facility was targeted.” Tarar said video footage released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) confirmed that ammunition storage sites were struck, and that Afghan Taliban officials had repeatedly used false narratives, doctored claims, and old visuals to mislead audiences.

He concluded that Pakistan will continue to take measures to defend its citizens, degrade terrorist capability, and deny safe haven to those who wage terror against Pakistan from across the border.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attempted an attack on Iran to divert international attention from Gaza.

In a statement posted on X, Asif said that the international media’s attention had shifted following the strike on Iran. “By attacking Iran Netanyahu has attempted to divert international attention away from Gaza,” he wrote. 

Asif further alleged that the Israeli prime minister was using the regional escalation to advance his objectives in Palestinian territories. “International media is focused on Iran now which gives Netanyahu space to quietly go ahead with his genocidal agenda in Gaza and West Bank. ” he said.

Asif also criticised Netanyahu’s leadership, linking the widening conflict to what he termed personal motives. “Netanyahu’s demonic personal ambitions have plunged Palestine and rest of ME into worst tragedy of human history,” he stated.

His comments came amid heightened tensions in the region after Israel and US strikes on Iran. Following the initial strikes, Iran responded with missile and drone attacks aimed at U.S. interests and allied positions in the Gulf, which has drawn widespread international attention and shifted the focus of global coverage.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared open war with Afghanistan on Friday.

Writing on X, Asif said Pakistan’s cup of patience has overflowed. He used the phrase “dama dam mast qalandar”, adding that the military is returning fire against border aggression. 

Asif said that after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, it had been expected that stability would return to the country while the Taliban would prioritise regional peace and the interests of the Afghan people. Instead, Afghanistan had been turned into what he called an “Indian colony.”

He stated that the Taliban had brought militants from different parts of the world into Afghanistan and were exporting terrorism. He also accused them of denying their citizens basic human rights and stripping women of rights guaranteed under Islam.

Asif said Pakistan had made efforts to keep the situation from escalating, both through direct engagement and by using friendly countries for diplomatic outreach. He said those efforts failed after the Taliban aligned with India.

The defence minister said that when attempts were made to target Pakistan, the armed forces responded.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Pakistan is in a state of war and Tuesday’s bombing in Islamabad was “a message from Kabul”, to which Pakistan has full strength to respond.

“We are in a state of war. Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today’s suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call,” he wrote in a post on X.

The defence minister said it was a war for all of Pakistan, in which the army is giving sacrifices every day and making the people feel secure. “In this environment, it would be futile to hold out greater hope for successful negotiations with Kabul.”

“The rulers of Kabul can stop terrorism in Pakistan, but bringing this war all the way to Islamabad is a message from Kabul, to which — praise be to Allah — Pakistan has the full strength to respond,” he added.

The defence minister’s post came as a suicide attack in the federal capital killed at least a dozen people dead.

A Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) spokesperson said that the blast outside a local court building in G-11 left at least 12 martyred and 30 injured.

Of the injured brought to the hospital, about five injured are in critical condition, the spokesperson added.

The injured reportedly included petitioners and lawyers. The building of the court was vacated after the explosion, those present inside the building were evacuated through the back door of the facility and court proceedings were suspended.

Speaking to the media at the site of the explosion, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the suicide attack took place at 12:39 pm today as the bomber was trying to enter the courthouse.

“But when he did not get an opportunity, he attacked a police vehicle”.

Noting that Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has directed to ensure the best medical assistance to those injured, the minister said that the first priority was to identify the suicide bomber.

“Those behind the court attack will be brought to justice,” he noted, adding that evidence will be brought to light soon.

He warned that if someone from another country was involved, it will not be forgiven.

Meanwhile, reports quoted sources as saying that the head of the suspected suicide bomber was found at the site of the explosion. They said the bombing was carried out by India-backed terrorists and the Afghan Taliban proxy Fitna al-Khawarij.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that the incarceration of former premier and Patron in Chief of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan is not for “a tit for tat” measure.

During an interview posted on Zeteo on Friday, journalist Mehdi Hassan asked Asif, “Are you banning and cracking down on the PTI because you are worried about how popular they are?” In response, Asif stated that he was not denying the popularity factor.

However, he stated that over the last two and a half years, the popularity [of PTI] has definitely gone down because of the country’s economic recovery. “And things are much more orderly since the last elections.”

The defence czar told the journalist that he had been in prison “for six months without any charge”.

Hasan’s question, “If it was unjust to you, is it not unjust to [Imran] Khan?” prompted Asif to say that he was not saying that the imprisonment of Khan “is a tit for tat” measure.

However, Hasan then pointed out that Amnesty International had released a report on Imran’s arrest, while a United Nations group had said that there was no legal basis for Imran’s imprisonment and termed it arbitrary. To that, the defence minister said, “Well, I think they have an opinion with which I disagree.”

“Pakistan has a situation whereby we are trying to recover from a very, very, misrule or bad rule or whatever you can call it — for three-and-a-half years,” Asif noted.

Defence pact with Saudi Arabia

Asif said that the recently signed Strategic Mutual Defence Pact between Pakistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) had “formalized” a relationship between the two countries that was previously “a bit transactional”.

The development had come in the wake of Israeli strikes on Qatar’s capital, Doha, on September 09. The signing of the pact was announced in a statement issued from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) last week, stating that “any aggression against either country shall be considered an act of aggression against both”.

On being asked, “How much of it is a reaction to the Israeli bombing of Qatar?” Asif said, “It is not a reaction to what happened in Qatar because this was being negotiated for quite some time. So it’s not a reaction; perhaps it must have sped it up a bit but that is all. It was already in the offing.”

Hasan then pointed out that Pakistan was the only nuclear power in the Muslim world, noting that the Kingdom had expressed interest in being the second. He also pointed out that Asif had previously stated that nuclear weapons “were not on the radar” for this pact.

“Is Saudi Arabia protected by Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella per this agreement or not?” he asked.

“We have had a very long defence relationship with Saudi Arabia, spanning five or six decades. We had a military presence over there, perhaps more than four or five thousand at the peak and we still have a military presence over there. I think we have just formalised that relationship which was previously a bit transactional,” Asif responded.

“Formalised with or without the nukes?” Hasan probed. Asif said, “I will refrain from going into the details, but it’s a defence pact and defence pacts are normally not discussed publicly.”

Hasan then pointed out that journalist Bob Woodward, who in his 2024 book War, had quoted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) telling a US senator that he could “just buy” a bomb from Pakistan.

“I think that is just sensationalised […] No, I don’t believe that quote,” the minister replied.

When asked by the journalist whether Pakistan’s “strategic” future is with China or the United States (US), the minister, citing the major export of arms from China, stated that the latter country is “reliable and they are our neighbours. We share borders and we share geography.”

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has called on Muslim countries to unite against the “rogue state” that is Israel, after it attacked Qatari capital Doha to assassinate Hamas leadership.

It was the first such attack by Israel on Qatar, which has been a key mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas, and hosts the region’s largest United States (US) military base.

With Qatar calling it a flagrant violation of international law and condemnations pouring in from around the globe, Asif in a post on X said it was time for Muslim countries to unite against Israel as its agenda was to “comprehensively deal with the Muslim world and neutralise whatever economic power they have”.

“Thinking that going soft on Israel will keep them safe is a folly,” the defence czar wrote.

Asif said that Pakistan was an “economically vulnerable state” but had a resolute government with valiant and professional armed forces, adding that the country had just recently confronted a five times larger state and “taught them a lesson”.

“No one underwrites security for you, outside help matters, but invincibility comes from within,” he said.

The post came shortly after Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif “strongly condemned the unlawful and heinous bombing in Doha by Israeli forces”.

“Our deepest sympathies and solidarity are with the Emir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Qatari Royal Family, as well as the people of Qatar at this difficult time,” he said.

Terming the Israeli act of aggression as “totally unjustified” and “a brazen violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar”, the premier maintained that the aggression constituted a dangerous provocation that could imperil regional peace and stability.

 
“Pakistan stands firmly with the State of Qatar, as well as with the people of Palestine against Israel’s aggression,” he concluded.

Defence Minister and senior PML-N leader Khawaja Asif has levelled serious allegations against the country’s bureaucracy, triggering intense backlash online, much of it aimed at the minister himself.

“More than half of the [members] of the bureaucracy of our dear homeland have already bought properties in Portugal and are preparing to obtain citizenship there,” he stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, without presenting any proof.

The minister claimed that the bureaucrats, after devouring billions of rupees, comfortably live a retired life. “One of [Usman] Buzdar’s [former chief minister of Punjab] closest bureaucrats has collected four billion rupees just in salami for his daughters’ weddings and is now calmly enjoying a retired life (sic),” he alleged.

The defence czar argued, “Politicians only get what is left over by them (bureaucrats)” and still get blamed for everything. 

He stated that politicians do not possess plots or foreign citizenship, as such holdings would disqualify them from contesting elections. “It is the bureaucracy that is polluting the sacred land of Pakistan,” he said.

In another post, he alleged that a man named “Virk sahab” has been playing the biggest role in providing shelters to the bureaucracy and elites in Portugal.

Journalists and social media users were quick to react to the minister’s allegations. “Khawaja sahab, your point seems valid. Please check who, among the bureaucrats or politicians, built Park View City in Portugal, where people obtain a European passport after investing there,” replied journalist Umar Cheema.

“You are the country’s defence minister and a key leader of the ruling party, yet so helpless, Khawaja Sahib,” wrote journalist Shahid Aslam on X.

“If a top brass minister like Khawaja Asif is only going to tweet, then who would arrest them, Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman or Yasmin Rashid? Who has stopped you from taking the money trail from these looters?” asked state-owned PTV-associated journalist Najam Wali Khan.

Pointing out the severity of the allegations, a netizen questioned, “Khawaja sahab, are you with the government or in the opposition?” One of the users said that that tweet “is an expression of helplessness”.

Another opined, “Everything else is fine, Khawaja Sahib, but just keep in mind that, no matter how, the government is yours. And you, by the grace of God, are also a respected minister, not only weak but also a favourite person of every constituency and leadership. It’s the public’s job to lodge complaints and yours to resolve them; here, the tables are turned, and you’re the one making complaints (sic).”