Afghanistan Wars Were Politically Driven, Not Religious, Says Pak Defence Minister
Pakistan’s defence minister said the country’s involvement in the wars in Afghanistan was driven by political considerations rather than religion.
Pakistan’s defence minister said the country’s involvement in the wars in Afghanistan was driven by political considerations rather than religion.
He added that the Soviet presence in Afghanistan should not be viewed solely as an “occupation”.
Speaking on Monday in Pakistan’s National Assembly, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan did not participate in the conflicts in Afghanistan out of religious commitment or in defence of Islam, but to secure political legitimacy and support from major global powers.
He said the Afghan government at the time had invited Soviet forces into the country and argued that describing their presence as an “occupation” reflected a narrative promoted by the United States.
Asif added that Pakistan even altered its national education curriculum during those years to align with wartime policies, saying the consequences of those changes remain unresolved. He said history had been rewritten to match the official narrative of the conflict.
“Pakistan Paid the Price and Was Abandoned”
According to Asif, Pakistan again entered conflict after 1999 in an effort to secure US support and was drawn into what he described as a rented war. He criticised the decisions of former Pakistani leaders General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf to involve the country in Afghanistan’s wars.
He said that Pakistan paid the price and was ultimately abandoned, and was used like tissue paper and then discarded.
He said the decision turned Pakistan into a frontline state fighting wars on behalf of others.
During two decades of conflict against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan served as one of the main transit routes for international coalition forces and equipment. The use of Karachi port and land and air corridors for supplies to Afghanistan became a key strategic asset for Islamabad.
However, the United States repeatedly accused Pakistan both publicly and privately of sheltering insurgent networks, particularly the Haqqani network. Former US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mike Mullen once described the Haqqani network as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s intelligence services.
Asif said Pakistan must acknowledge its past mistakes to overcome the consequences of those policies. He added that Pakistani society does not need to prove its religious identity and should instead focus on strengthening its ties to its own country and people.
Islamabad Mosque Attacker “Trained in Afghanistan”
At the same parliamentary session, Pakistan’s minister for parliamentary affairs, Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, said the attacker behind the recent suicide bombing in Islamabad was a resident of Peshawar who had received training in Afghanistan.
He alleged the training was carried out with Indian support and claimed New Delhi played a direct role in the operation.
Chaudhry said the attacker first opened fire on security guards before entering the imambargah, a Shia place of worship, and detonating explosives inside the mosque. According to him, 33 worshippers most of them young people were killed in the attack, and about 150 others were injured.
He identified the attacker as Yasir Khan and said four additional suspects had been arrested on suspicion of assisting him.
