ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday defended his remarks regarding the ongoing unrest in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), saying his comments were “frank and honest” and accusing externally driven elements of attempting to weaken Pakistan’s position on the Kashmir issue.
In a post on social media platform X, Asif said efforts to misrepresent his remarks would not affect Pakistan’s commitment to Kashmir.
“My remarks about the crisis in AJK were frank and honest,” he said. “Those who have sinister agendas may try to twist them, but they cannot take Kashmir out of me or out of Pakistan, or take Pakistan out of Kashmir.”
The statement came a day after the defence minister defended the government’s handling of protests in AJK and alleged that India was attempting to destabilise Pakistan through Afghan territory while reaffirming Islamabad’s commitment to peace along its western border.
Asif said the sacrifices made by Kashmiris who migrated to Pakistan in October 1947, along with those living in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, formed the foundation of the Kashmir cause.
He said the decades-long struggle in Indian-administered Kashmir had involved immense sacrifices, including loss of life and imprisonment, and reiterated Pakistan’s support for the right of self-determination through a United Nations-backed plebiscite.
The defence minister also criticised what he described as externally influenced voices in AJK speaking against Pakistan and the Kashmir cause, saying such narratives should be firmly countered.
He said the people of AJK, who have lived in relative peace under the protection of Pakistan’s security forces for decades, should recognise the sacrifices made by Kashmiris in Indian-administered Kashmir and those who migrated to Pakistan following Partition.
Asif said diminishing those sacrifices amounted to weakening the Kashmir cause, adding that Kashmiri identity had been shaped by nearly eight decades of struggle and sacrifice rather than by “birth certificates.”
His remarks come amid heightened political tensions in AJK following ongoing protests and a government crackdown that has drawn criticism from opposition groups, while authorities maintain their actions were necessary to preserve law and order.
