‘US used Pakistan like toilet paper,’ says Defence Minister Khawaja Asif
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘US used Pakistan like toilet paper,’ says Defence Minister Khawaja Asif")
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif Photograph: (AFP)
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that by aligning itself with Washington in the US-led Afghan war in the post-2001 period, Pakistan turned against the Taliban, and while the US eventually withdrew from the region, it is grappling with prolonged violence and radicalisation.
Even as Pakistan’s leadership has been wooing the United States and President Donald Trump, the country’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has accused 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. Asif made the stark admission while 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.”
He also termed Islamabad’s involvement in two Afghan wars ‘a mistake’, saying terrorism in Pakistan today was the blowback of past mistakes.
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‘US withdrew from Afghanistan, we are grappling with violence’
Asif said that Pakistan’s post-1999 realignment with Washington, particularly in relation to Afghanistan, 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.
Asif pointed out that by aligning itself with Washington in the US-led Afghan war in the post-2001 period, Pakistan turned against the Taliban, and while the US eventually withdrew from the region, it is grappling with prolonged violence, radicalisation and economic strain.
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‘Former military dictators joined war in Afghanistan to appease a superpower’
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Asif also challenged the official narratives that Pakistan’s involvement in the Afghan conflicts was driven by religious obligation or commitment.
“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,” he said.
“We deny our history and do not accept our mistakes. Terrorism is a blowback of the mistakes committed by dictators in the past,” the minister said, adding, “The losses we suffered can never be compensated.”
He also said that Pakistan’s education system was restructured to justify these wars and the effects of those ideological changes are still visible today.
