'Used & threw us like toilet paper, we didn't learn': Pakistan's Khwaja Asif's big remark on US

Islamabad: Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has issued one of the most candid acknowledgements of the country’s past alignment with the United States, alleging that Washington “exploited” Pakistan for its strategic purposes before discarding it “like a piece of toilet paper” once those goals were achieved. Addressing Pakistan’s National Assembly, Asif conceded that the country frequently denies its history with terrorism, describing it as a “mistake committed by dictators in the past.”

He further described Islamabad’s participation in the two Afghan wars as a “mistake,” stating that the terrorism Pakistan faces today is a consequence of those past decisions.

On Pak-US Alliance

Asif spoke about Pakistan’s realignment with Washington after 1999, especially regarding Afghanistan, which he said caused long-term harm to the nation. According to him, the repercussions of siding with the US after the September 11, 2001 attacks were severe. “Pakistan was treated worse than a piece of toilet paper and was used for a purpose and then thrown away,” he said.

The Defence Minister pointed out that Islamabad once again partnered with Washington during the US-led war in Afghanistan after 2001, effectively turning against the Taliban. He added that while the United States ultimately withdrew from the region, Pakistan was left dealing with sustained violence, radicalisation, and economic pressure.

Afghan Mistakes

Asif also questioned the official stance that Pakistan’s role in the Afghan conflicts was motivated by religious duty. He admitted that Pakistanis were mobilised to fight in the name of jihad, calling the narrative misleading and profoundly harmful.

He informed Parliament that “two former military dictators (Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf) had joined the war in Afghanistan, not for the sake of Islam, but to appease a superpower.” “We deny our history and do not accept our mistakes. Terrorism is a blowback of the mistakes committed by dictators in the past,” the minister said. “The losses we suffered can never be compensated,” Asif added, describing Pakistan’s errors as “irreversible.” He also asserted that the country’s education system was altered to rationalise these wars, embedding ideological shifts that persist to this day.