ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Pakistan hosted Afghan citizens for five decades and shared its limited resources with them, but terrorism against Pakistan had not declined in return.
In a statement shared on his X account, Asif said Pakistan had hoped after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan that its western border would become more secure and neighbouring countries would coexist peacefully. However, he alleged that a large proportion of those involved in terrorist attacks on Pakistani mosques, schools, markets and security forces were Afghan nationals.
ھم پانچ دھائیاں افغانوں کو پناہ دی اپنے محدود وسائل میں حصہ دار بنایا۔ نیٹو فوج کے چلے جانے کے بعد نیک خواھشات کا اظہار کیاامید رکھی یہ ھماری سرحد محفوظ ھو گی ۔ ھمسائے امن سے رہیں گے ۔ مگر ھماری مسجدوں سکولوں بازاروں میں دھشت گردی کرنے والے ھماری فوج پہ حملہ کرنے والے 70/80فیصد… https://t.co/yZnbKqau0T
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) September 20, 2026
The defence minister claimed that some of these elements were also showing solidarity with India. He said Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership had maintained direct and indirect contacts with Afghan authorities, but alleged that such engagement had not reduced what he described as hostility toward Pakistan.
Asif’s remarks came amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militancy. Pakistan has repeatedly accused militant groups of using Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks, while Afghan authorities have rejected allegations that they support such groups.
The minister also criticised Pakistani students who had expressed solidarity with Afghan students, saying he viewed the move as a reflection of their political leanings rather than an expression of goodwill.
He argued that those supporting Afghan students should instead seek to promote goodwill through educational engagement in Afghanistan. Asif said Pakistan’s decades of hosting Afghan citizens and sharing its resources had not, in his view, brought about the desired change in attitudes.
The defence minister further urged Pakistani students not to allow political affiliations to overshadow the sacrifices of Pakistani civilians and security personnel killed in terrorist attacks. He said ignoring such deaths would amount to disrespecting the victims.
He said that nearly 80 percent of suicide bombers in Pakistan were Afghan nationals, while stressing that Pakistan’s objection was to the use of Afghan territory for terrorism rather than to the Afghan people.
