Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told the National Assembly on Wednesday, 14 October, that the nation should stand with the state and the armed forces in the fight against terrorism. He said Pakistan's security and survival must take priority over political interests.
What he asked of the country
He pointed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where he said the armed forces are paying a heavy price against terrorism, and he asked the provincial government to support that effort in full. Terrorists, he said, had killed innocent people, including children, so every political party had to join the effort to defeat them. "Our relationship with Pakistan takes precedence over all other relationships," he said.
Political quarrels, he argued, should not slow the work of bringing peace back. He said the armed forces need the civilian government and the public behind them. Security and national interests, he said, have to rank above rivalries and personal loyalties.
Remarks on the PTI and the talks
Asif turned his criticism on the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, saying it should not set aside its own past while attacking the government. On talks between the two sides, he said the government had bent enough to give the dialogue a chance, yet no agreement came out of it. He claimed that points settled in those negotiations were later challenged by the PTI leadership, and he alleged that a party leader who was in hiding had shaped decisions about the talks.
He said the country should keep its attention on terrorism in Pakistan, not on making one leader's release the centre of politics. He recalled that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif were jailed while the PTI was in government. The PML-N, he said, carried on with politics through that period and did not reduce its politics to a campaign for their release.
Record in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
He also challenged the PTI over its time in office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that after several years in power the party should explain its record on governance and public services. Governments and parties, he added, should accept their old mistakes rather than lay the blame on someone else.
He asked the civilian government and the public to back the armed forces so the campaign is not undercut by division. He closed where he began: survival and security come before political interests.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif ne National Assembly mein kaha ke mulk ko dehshat gardi ke khilaf fauj aur state ke sath khara hona chahiye. Unhon ne kaha ke siyasat se pehle Pakistan ki hifazat aur baqa zaroori hai. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mein fauj qurbaniyan de rahi hai, is liye wahan ki hukumat ko poora sath dena chahiye. Aam logon ke liye iska matlab yeh hai ke aman ko party ki larai se upar rakha jaye.
