Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Pakistan’s controversial Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has admitted Islamabad’s past alignment with the United States, accusing Washington of “exploiting” the Southeast Asian nation for its strategic interests and then discarding it “like a piece of toilet paper” after its objectives were met, the media reported on Wednesday.
Speaking in Pakistan’s National Assembly, he admitted that Pakistan often denies its terror history, calling it a “mistake committed by dictators in the past.”
The minister also termed Islamabad’s involvement in two Afghan wars “a mistake,” saying that the terrorism in Pakistan today was the blowback of past mistakes.
The US-Pak Alliance
Asif reflected on Pakistan’s post-1999 realignment with Washington, particularly in relation to Afghanistan, which, according to him, left lasting damage on the country.
He said the costs of realigning with the US after 1999, particularly following the September 11, 2001, attacks, were devastating. “Pakistan was treated worse than a piece of toilet paper and was used for a purpose and then thrown away,” he said.
He noted that Islamabad again aligned itself with Washington in the US-led Afghan war in the post-2001 period, turning against the Taliban. While the United States eventually withdrew from the region, Pakistan was left grappling with prolonged violence, radicalisation and economic strain.
Afghan Blunders
Asif challenged the official narratives that Pakistan’s involvement in the Afghan conflicts was driven by religious obligation. He acknowledged that Pakistanis were sent to fight under the banner of jihad, calling that framing misleading and deeply damaging.
He told Parliament that “two former military dictators (Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf) had joined the war in Afghanistan, not for the sake of Islam, but to appease a superpower.”
“We deny our history and do not accept our mistakes. Terrorism is a blowback of the mistakes committed by dictators in the past,” he said
“The losses we suffered can never be compensated,” Asif added, calling Pakistan’s mistakes “irreversible.”
Asif also claimed that Pakistan’s education system was reshaped to justify these wars, with ideological changes that remain embedded today.