Islamabad: In a rare and candid admission on the floor of Parliament, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif acknowledged that Islamabad’s past alignment with Washington during the Afghan conflicts proved costly, describing the country’s role as one that ultimately served American interests more than its own.
Addressing members of the National Assembly, Asif said Pakistan had been taken advantage of during successive phases of the Afghan wars. Once US objectives were achieved, he remarked, Islamabad was left to deal with the fallout. In blunt language, he suggested that Pakistan had been discarded after serving its purpose.
The minister conceded that successive governments had failed to fully own up to their involvement in supporting militant networks during those periods. This reluctance to confront the past, he said, has compounded the country’s current security and political challenges. According to Asif, the wave of extremism and violence Pakistan grapples with today is rooted in policy decisions taken decades ago under military rule.
Referring particularly to the post-9/11 period, he said Islamabad’s decision to side with Washington and withdraw support from the Taliban had far-reaching consequences. While US forces eventually exited Afghanistan, Pakistan remained burdened with internal instability, economic strain and the spread of radical ideologies.
Asif dismissed the narrative that Pakistan’s participation in the conflicts was driven by religious obligation. He argued that fighters were mobilised under the banner of jihad, a framing he described as deceptive and damaging to society.
The defence minister placed responsibility on former military rulers, including General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf, alleging that their decisions were aimed at satisfying a global power rather than advancing national or religious interests.
He further noted that policy shifts during those eras reshaped segments of Pakistan’s education system to rationalise the wars. The ideological imprint of those changes, he said, continues to influence society.
Calling the consequences profound and lasting, Asif maintained that the human and economic costs borne by Pakistan cannot be undone. His remarks have sparked debate within political circles, with observers describing them as one of the more forthright acknowledgments by a senior official of the country’s controversial strategic choices in recent history.
