Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has questioned why former Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa resettled terrorists in Pakistan, urging that he should be held accountable as former ISI chief Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed is already under arrest.
Speaking to the media at Parliament House on Thursday, Asif highlighted that terrorism is a global issue that requires a collective response. He called for an inquiry into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) failure to curb terrorism, holding the provincial government responsible for the rising militant attacks.
He accused the KP government of prioritising the deposed PTI chief’s political battle over counter-terrorism measures, stating that no significant steps had been taken to tackle the issue.
Asif blamed Bajwa, Faiz, and PTI founder Imran Khan for facilitating the return of militants to Pakistan.
“Faiz Hameed is already under arrest, but Bajwa must be questioned about why he resettled these militants,” Asif asserted.
Pakistan ranked as the world’s second-most terrorism-affected country in 2024, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2025 report. The country saw a 45% increase in terrorism-related deaths, rising from 748 in 2023 to 1,081 in 2024 — one of the sharpest surges globally.
Commenting on Khan’s reported letter to former US President Donald Trump, Asif remarked that Pakistan’s internal letter-writing politics had now gone international. He predicted that the letter would meet the same fate as previous such communications.
On the prospect of political reconciliation, Asif stated that dialogue is only possible when the opposing side is not hostile.
