ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, has issued a long, pointed statement addressed to Sirajuddin Haqqani, invoking the anti-Soviet jihad era, Pakistan’s hosting of Afghan families and refugees, and Pakistan’s post-9/11 cooperation with the United States and NATO, while accusing Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of sheltering militants who attack Pakistan.
In the message, posted on X on 27 February, Asif said Pakistan “stood shoulder to shoulder” with the Haqqanis during the war against the Soviet Union, describing Afghans as “guests” whose families were hosted in Pakistan and noting that “millions are still refugees on Pakistan’s soil.” He told Haqqani that Pakistan and Afghan fighters shared “one goal,” which he said was “given… by America,” before closing with the phrase: “Whether you remember it or not… Made in America Jihad.”
حقانی صاحب آپکی ماضی کی جنگوں میں سوویت یونین کے خلاف پاکستان دل وجان کے ساتھ آپکے ساتھ کھڑا تھا ۔ آپ ھمارے مہمان رہے آپکے خاندانوں کی دھائیاں مہمانداری کی۔ تب کے لاکھوں مہمانوں میں لاکھوں ابھی بھی پاک سر زمین پہ پناہ گزین ھیں۔ ھماری پاک مٹی سے رزق کماتے ھیں۔ آپ بھی بمعہ… https://t.co/RlYy2oZlqS pic.twitter.com/PwTnyyH7ed
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) February 27, 2026
Asif said that after 9/11, Pakistan served as a facilitator for NATO, but alleged that Washington repeatedly accused Islamabad of simultaneously facilitating the Haqqani Network. He wrote that American officials “would ask us for your whereabouts,” then challenged Haqqani to speak publicly on whether those allegations were “true or false.”
The defence minister also referenced Pakistan’s past attempts to mediate Afghan conflicts, stating that Pakistan sought to end “mutual fights” and took parties to Mecca to broker reconciliation. “We extended great hospitality to your elders and three generations,” he wrote.
Turning to the present conflict, Asif asked what Pakistan received “in return,” alleging that Afghan authorities “sheltered our killers” and embraced those responsible for attacks on Pakistan, including violence against children. He said he had travelled to Kabul and made a single request: “Do not become allies to our enemies… Do not let your land be used against us.”
In a direct appeal to Haqqani’s lineage, Asif wrote that “the one to whom you are called Haqqani was a very great elder,” urging Sirajuddin Haqqani to uphold the “honour” of the name. He said Pakistan wanted no more than separation and non-interference: “You stay content in your home; we stay content in ours.”
The statement was issued as Pakistan’s leadership publicly described the situation with Afghanistan as an “open war” amid intensified clashes and reported strikes across the frontier.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office, in comments delivered a day earlier, said Pakistan would take “all necessary measures” in exercise of the “right to self-defence” against attacks “emanating from Afghanistan.”
