Pakistan finally admits? Why Khwaja Asif feels US ‘used and discarded’ Islamabad like ‘toilet paper’ | World News

Islamabad: Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif made an unusually clear judgment about Islamabad’s past ties with Washington, setting off a fierce political and public debate. Speaking in the National Assembly, he said that Islamabad was “used like toilet paper and then discarded” by the United States. He was referring to decades-long security cooperation with Washington.

He made the statement during a heated parliamentary debate on terrorism following a deadly suicide attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad. In the attack on Imambargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra in Tarlai district, 31 worshipers died and 169 people were injured during Friday prayers. Grief and anger spilled into the streets as thousands attended funerals in the capital to demand justice and stronger security.

Asif turned his focus outwards and backwards. He told Parliament that Pakistan has repeatedly stepped into conflicts driven by global powers rather than its own strategic needs. He said the country was fighting wars on Afghan soil that were never truly its own. He was referring to Pakistan’s participation in the anti-Soviet war in the 1980s and later cooperation in the US-led war on terrorism.

“We took part in two wars that were fought on the soil of Afghanistan. These were not our wars; they were superpower wars,” he said, adding that Pakistan and its land were used and then discarded “like toilet paper”.

He argued that this support was given in the name of religion and security partnerships. He suggested that past military rulers sought international legitimacy and foreign support through such initiatives. He noted that the long-term consequences hit home in the form of militancy and internal violence.

Describing terrorism as a result of previous policy decisions, the minister said Pakistan was still living with the consequences of choices made during past dictatorships. He expressed anger at the country’s failure to learn lasting lessons, adding that Islamabad frequently moves between major capitals to gain short-term advantage.

He also recalled that former US President Bill Clinton had a brief stopover in Islamabad in 2000; this visit lasted only a few hours at the end of a longer tour of India. He suggested that the episode showed how the relationship became purely transactional over time. He said this was increasingly due to American pressure on issues such as democracy, militancy and Pakistan’s nuclear program.

The parliament session ended with a resolution condemning the mosque bombing and calling for national unity against terrorism. While MPs expressed solidarity with the victims, Asif warned that political divisions were weakening the country’s collective response. He called on leaders to build consensus on national security, saying the fight against militancy requires a common identity and common purpose.