Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday accused Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman of using a National Assembly speech to pressure the federal government for a place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government.
Responding in the Assembly, Asif said the JUI-F leader’s remarks a day earlier amounted to “blackmailing”. He framed the speech as a demand for political accommodation so that Fazlur Rehman could rejoin the ruling side.
What sparked the exchange
Fazlur Rehman had questioned why regional security and defence-related talks were under way in Tehran while Pakistan’s defence minister remained in Islamabad. He asked whether that duty also fell to the Interior Ministry.
Khawaja Asif rejected that criticism. He said the Tehran meeting was not connected to the Ministry of Defence and did not deal with Pakistan’s defence arrangements. He added that the Saudi defence minister and the Turkish intelligence chief attended, not their countries’ defence ministers, and that his presence was therefore not required.
Asif’s charge over the KP government
Asif said the earlier speech effectively meant: show political consideration so that Fazlur Rehman could join the government camp again. He claimed the JUI-F chief would not have delivered the same speech if his party had been given a share in the KP government.
“I swear that if he had been given a share in the KP government, he would not have made yesterday’s speech,” Asif said.
He also expressed regret over earlier political alliances with Fazlur Rehman. Parties, he argued, should not strike compromises only to reach power, and sitting in opposition was more dignified than coalitions that later turned to pressure tactics.
Past roles Asif raised
Asif criticised Fazlur Rehman’s record of shifting political partnerships and of holding positions and privileges over the years. He pointed to Fazlur Rehman’s roughly 10 years as chairman of the National Assembly’s Kashmir Committee and challenged him to set out what that tenure achieved for the Kashmir cause.
He also recalled that Fazlur Rehman had served as opposition leader under the political arrangement of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf’s era.
The clash leaves open how federal and provincial coalition talks involving JUI-F may proceed, but the Assembly exchange itself centred on Asif’s rejection of the Tehran criticism and his claim that the speech was aimed at securing a role in KP.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Defence minister Khawaja Asif ne Maulana Fazlur Rehman par ilzam lagaya ke unki Assembly speech blackmail thi. Asif ka kehna hai ke Maulana KP government mein hissa chahte hain. Tehran wali meeting ko Asif ne defence ministry ka mamla nahi bataya. Aam logon ke liye yeh elite politics ka jhagda hai, lekin is se yeh pata chalta hai ke KP coalition aur hukumat ke darmiyan tanav barh sakta hai.
