Asif draws a line on Tehran
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the National Assembly on Thursday, 29 October 2026, that talks held in Tehran were not about a defence pact and did not concern Pakistan’s defence. Responding to remarks by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman a day earlier, Asif said his own presence in Tehran was not required because the discussions sat outside the Defence Ministry’s mandate.
He stressed that he had personally taken part in two recent defence agreements, and that those arrangements were different from what was discussed in Tehran. The minister cast Field Marshal Asim Munir—Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff (COAS)—as a peace intermediary rather than a deal-maker on defence.
Munir cast as peace envoy
“The Field Marshal [Asim Munir] went there to broker peace,” Asif said, calling him a “messenger of peace.” He said Munir had helped stop a war and that the situation around Yemen could have worsened. Asif asked for international recognition of Pakistan’s and the CDF’s part in those peace efforts, and said he hoped positive steps would appear in the Middle East in the coming days.
Clash with Fazl over politics and policy
Asif turned to Fazl’s record, saying the JUI-F leader had both clashed and cooperated with the state and had served in government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Until recently, Fazl was with us. We jointly brought a no-confidence motion,” Asif said, pointing to earlier cooperation in the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) period. Fazl had headed the multi-party PDM alliance that removed the PTI-led government in April 2022; that arrangement then governed for about 16 months.
The defence minister criticised how Fazl became opposition leader, calling it the product of “muk muka”—a political understanding or deal. He also asked what Fazl had achieved for Kashmir in ten years as Kashmir committee chairman, beyond “swinging on swings.”
Asif admitted faults on his own side. “I believe we made mistakes. We should not have entered into such compromises to come to power. We should have sat on the opposition benches; there would have been more dignity in that,” he said. Forming coalitions with such figures, he argued, left the government open to pressure. “When you come to power by forming a coalition with such people, you keep getting blackmailed,” he said, treating Fazl’s recent speech as an example.
He said rivals may criticise the government on other issues but should leave foreign and defence policy alone. “You can say whatever you want about us, but do not criticise our foreign and defence policies,” Asif said. He alleged that criticism often starts when political figures do not get a share of power, and fades when they do—without naming Fazl in that line.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif ne Assembly mein kaha ke Tehran ki baat cheet defence pact ya Pakistan ki defence ke bare mein nahi thi. Unhone Field Marshal Asim Munir ko aman ka paigham denay wala bataya, jinhone jung rokne aur Yemen ke khatre kam karne mein madad ki. Asif ne Maulana Fazlur Rehman ke aitraaz ka jawab diya aur kaha ke mulk ki foreign aur defence policy ko siyasi maqsad ke liye nishana nahi banana chahiye. Aam shehri ke liye yeh asl mein hukumat aur opposition ke darmiyan siyasi aur defence policy ke ikhtilaf ki baat hai, petrol ya bijli ke billon mein seedha tabdeeli nahi.
