ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has admitted that the country made serious mistakes by aligning with the United States in the past, especially during the Afghan wars.
Speaking in Pakistan’s National Assembly, Asif said the US exploited Pakistan for its own strategic needs and abandoned it after achieving its goals. He said Pakistan was treated “worse than a piece of toilet paper.”
Asif admitted that Pakistan often denies its past role in supporting militancy and said this denial has caused long-term damage. He stated that terrorism in Pakistan today is the result of past mistakes made by military rulers.
He called Pakistan’s involvement in two Afghan wars a mistake, particularly after the 9/11 attacks when Islamabad sided with the US and turned against the Taliban. While the US later withdrew from Afghanistan, Pakistan was left facing violence, radicalisation and economic problems.
The minister rejected claims that Pakistan joined the Afghan wars for religious reasons. He said people were sent to fight under the name of jihad, which he described as misleading and harmful.
Asif blamed former military dictators Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, saying they joined the Afghan wars to please a superpower, not to serve Islam.
He also said Pakistan’s education system was changed to justify these wars, and those ideological changes still remain today. Calling the damage irreversible, Asif said the losses suffered by Pakistan can never be fully compensated.