Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that the decision to settle the Taliban in Pakistan was a joint move by former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, former ISI chief Faiz Hameed, and the founder of PTI.

He also stated that infiltration into Pakistan is occurring due to American weapons left in Afghanistan.

Speaking to the media in Islamabad, Khawaja Asif said that Pakistan had fulfilled an international responsibility.

He asserted that Pervez Musharraf’s war was not against terrorism, adding that Pakistan arrested a terrorist and handed him over to the US.

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“Pakistan is on the front line in the war against terrorism,” he said, emphasising that even the US President admitted that weapons should not have been left behind in Afghanistan.

He further stated that reconciliation politics is only possible when the opposing side is not attacking.

“You resist an aggressor, not reconcile with them,” he remarked.

When asked whether negotiations with PTI should be prioritized, Asif questioned, “Can there be any reconciliation with them? Have they left any room for dialogue?”

He pointed out that PTI had already launched multiple attacks on Islamabad and was now planning another after Eid.

He accused PTI of using Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as a battleground for Imran Khan’s power struggle rather than effectively countering terrorism.

“KP’s performance in fighting terrorism is zero,” he claimed, while stating that the federal government was ready to support the province in every way.

Commenting on PTI founder Imran Khan’s plan to write a letter to former US President Donald Trump, Khawaja Asif mocked the move, saying, “They have turned letter-writing into an international spectacle. The fate of these letters will be no different from their previous ones.”

When asked what advice he would give to Imran Khan, the defence minister sarcastically replied,

“He is beyond advice — perhaps he can take guidance from magic spells, but not from political wisdom.”