'Not defence ministry's mandate': Asif responds to Fazl's remarks about his absence at Tehran huddle

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif responded on Thursday to Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s remarks regarding the former’s non-participation in a recent huddle in Tehran.

The meeting brought together officials from member countries of the Makkah Defence Alliance — Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin — in Tehran, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei joined them.

The huddle agreed to “continue their dialogue to bolster cooperation among the four regional nations, including in the areas of regional peace and security”.

On Wednesday, Fazl referred to the development during his address in the National Assembly (NA) and commented: “A defence pact is taking shape in Iran, a meeting is under way (there), and the defence minister is sitting here.”

Amid laughter and desk thumping in the House, he referred to the presence of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi at the Tehran huddle and questioned: “The interior minister is required there as well?”

Then, taking a jibe at Asif, he repeated the defence minister’s phrase that he had used against the PTI.

“There is your respect and stature — koi sharam hoti hai, koi haya hoti hai (have some shame, show some modesty),” he said, breaking into laughter in the middle.

Responding to him in the NA on Thursday, Asif said no defence pact was taking shape in Tehran, nor was the discussion focused on Pakistan’s defence or any related matter.

He said CDF Munir had “assumed a role for Pakistan” following last year’s military conflict with India. That role, he said, was of “peace and dialogue so that peace is established in our region”.

Pakistan had signed two defence pacts — the Makkah defence pact and the Badr Memorandum of Understanding — since, he noted.

“I was involved in those pacts as I am the defence minister,” he explained, adding that the meeting in Tehran was “not the defence ministry’s mandate”.

The CDF had gone there “as a messenger of peace and paved the ground” for the huddle, he said, ostensibly referring to Tehran last week.

During that visit, the CDF had proposed the Tehran meeting, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

Asif said this was the situation and he was “not needed in Tehran”.

He added that the CDF had played a role in averting a confrontation. “The situation could have deteriorated as far as the Yemen issue is concerned […] There has been some talk and peace may emerge in the coming days or week as far as Saudi Arabia versus Yemen (sic) is concerned.”

Asif advised Fazl to be the bigger person and said his criticism was “misplaced”.

The defence minister further said Pakistan’s and the CDF’s role at the international level should be acknowledged keeping political differences aside.

He said one should at least show some dignity.

Asif said Fazl had been in the government with every political party, making an incomplete remark: “When you don’t get a share in the power —”

“When you delete the past from your memory and attack your rivals — at least I don’t have that courage. When I speak, my past is fresh in my mind; that if I say this, whether I would be taunted that we supported General Ziaul Haq’s government,” he went on to say.

The defence minister recalled that Fazl was part of the Musharraf government, had also been an opposition leader in the House and also served as the Kashmir Committee chairperson. He said a person serving as the head of such a committee that raises issues at an international forum should have “impeccable credentials”.

“You taunt me with ‘have some shame, show some modesty’, but you should also have some shame and show some modesty. How many perks have you enjoyed over the past 40 years? You have been violating the very principles that you have been highlighting,” Asif continued. He alleged that Fazl’s past “is full of contradictions”.

He recalled that Fazl had also offered to mediate with Kabul. “Were you the foreign minister?” he questioned, alleging that the move was aimed at “value addition to his politics and leverage that to extract maximum advantage from the government”.

When some lawmakers opposed him in favour of Fazl, he remarked, “The Maulana now needs women’s support. He is unable to find a man.”

He also accused Fazl of “targeting our diplomatic efforts”, saying that the government’s achievement at the global stage had not received the commendation they deserved.

Asif said his advice to the JUI-F would be a line often seen on buses and trucks: “Mehnat kar hasad na kar (work hard and don’t envy).”

He ended his address, alleging that had Fazl been given some share in the governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule in the province, the JUI-F chief’s address the previous day would not have been delivered.

“This sideshow that they (JUI-F) are running, I feel that it is unfortunate that our sisters have been forced to defend the men (of JUI-F ) while the men are nowhere to be seen,” Asif remarked.

Describing Fazl’s address as “blackmail”, Asif warned against coming into power based on “compromises”.

“Sitting in the opposition would be a more respectable approach, rather than sitting with people who will blackmail you,” he said.

“We as senior parliamentarians should convey to the nation that we will not do group-based politics but politics rooted in the constitution and [..] for the security of the country,” Asif urged, adding that lawmakers should chart a way forward together, rather than “grabbing each other by the collar”.

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