‘America used Pakistan then threw away like toilet paper’: Defence Minister Khawaja’s big admission

Islamabad: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has made one of the starkest admissions of Islamabad’s past alignment with the United States, accusing Washington of “exploiting” the Southeast Asian nation for its strategic interests and then discarding it “like a piece of toilet paper” after its objectives were met. Speaking in Pakistan’s National Assembly, Asif admitted that Pakistan often denies its terror history, calling it a “mistake committed by dictators in the past.”

The Pakistani minister also termed Islamabad’s involvement in two Afghan wars ‘a mistake,’ saying that the terrorism in Pakistan today was the blowback of past mistakes.

Asif reflected on Pakistan’s post-1999 realignment with Washington, particularly in relation to Afghanistan, which, according to him, left lasting damage on the country.

He said the costs of realigning with the US after 1999, particularly following the September 11, 2001, attacks, were devastating. “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 noted Islamabad again aligned itself with Washington in the US-led Afghan war in the post-2001 period, turning against the Taliban in the process.