Asif hits back at Fazl: no defence pact in Tehran talks

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has hit back at Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the National Assembly, insisting that no defence pact was under discussion in the Tehran talks and that his presence there was therefore not needed. The exchange, on Thursday, followed Fazl’s criticism a day earlier, when he asked why a defence agreement was supposedly being discussed in Iran while the defence minister sat in Islamabad.

What the Tehran meeting was
Asif told the house that no defence minister attended the October 26 meeting in Tehran, because no defence agreement was on the table at all. The gathering, he said, was about regional peace and lowering tensions, with Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir acting as a messenger of peace. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Turkiye’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin were among those present, alongside meetings with Iranian officials.

A sharp turn on Fazl’s record
The defence minister then turned to Fazl’s own political record, noting that the JUI-F chief has held positions of influence under successive governments and chaired the National Assembly’s Kashmir Committee for about a decade. He accused him of misrepresenting the facts and of exploiting religion for political and financial gain — a charge the JUI-F rejects. The speech was interrupted when JUI-F member Aliya Kamran pointed to a lack of quorum; PTI and JUI-F members walked out during the count, but Deputy Speaker Syed Ghulam Murtaza Shah declared the house in quorum and allowed Asif to continue.

Naqvi answers in the Senate
In the Senate, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said he had lost the respect he once held for Fazl after the JUI-F chief’s remarks about the state on Wednesday. Naqvi said he had travelled to Tehran on a special assignment from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif connected to the ongoing regional crisis, not to negotiate a defence pact. His remarks led to a heated exchange with JUI-F Senator Kamran Murtaza. The JUI-F, for its part, accused the government of relying on the military.

PTI stands by Fazl
Meanwhile a PTI delegation led by party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan and former speaker Asad Qaiser called on Fazl at his residence and expressed solidarity with him, condemning what it called personal attacks on opposition leaders. The delegation warned against turning political differences into personal attacks, and also raised concern over recent developments including the imposition of governor’s rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.