Islamabad: Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, ex-ISI Chief Lieutenant General (Retd) Faiz Hameed, and former Prime Minister Imran Khan collectively decided to resettle the Taliban in Pakistan.
Speaking to the media in Islamabad, he stated that this was a joint decision and was even praised in the parliamentary proceedings at the time.
He pointed out that while Faiz Hameed is currently under arrest, General Bajwa is not, and he should also be questioned regarding this decision.
Khawaja Asif further stated that Pakistan did not fight any war against terrorism in the 1980s and 1990s; rather, those conflicts were driven by the vested interests of the rulers of that time. He accused the United States of waging wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya not to combat terrorism but to expand its influence.
The minister emphasized that Pakistan is the biggest victim of terrorism. If Pakistan has handed over terrorists to the U.S. and is receiving appreciation from the world for it, then it should be considered a collective effort. He stated that Pakistan is on the front lines in the fight against terrorism and is also suffering the most from it.
Blaming the rise in terrorism on high-tech weapons left behind by the U.S. in Afghanistan, Khawaja Asif noted that even the U.S. President admitted this mistake. If the U.S. is now realizing its error and considering retrieving those weapons, he said, it would significantly boost the fight against terrorism.
When asked about a possible reconciliation with PTI, he dismissed the idea, stating that political reconciliation is only possible when the other party is not hostile. "If the other side is attacking, then resistance politics is the right approach," he added.
Regarding the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he urged the provincial government to take responsibility for dealing with terrorism, citing the unrest in Parachinar as a serious concern, though he noted that it is not under federal jurisdiction.
When questioned about Imran Khan allegedly writing a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, Khawaja Asif ridiculed the move, likening it to past "letter-writing dramas" and predicting the same fate for this attempt. He sarcastically added that Imran Khan might seek advice from sorcery and spiritual practices, but no political counsel would help him.
He reiterated that the decision to bring and settle the Taliban in Pakistan was not solely PTI's doing but was also backed by General Bajwa. "There was a mutual agreement between General Bajwa, General Faiz, and Imran Khan. All three were involved in this decision," he claimed. He urged authorities to review parliamentary records, where he recalled that the move was praised in a joint session of both houses.
Defending Pervez Khattak’s inclusion in the federal cabinet, Khawaja Asif argued that during PTI’s tenure, Khattak was removed from the provincial post and brought into the federal government, allowing rampant corruption to continue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He alleged that corruption persists in the province even today.
