Islamabad.There is a big earthquake in the politics of Pakistan these days. The strong statements made by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazal) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman against his own army and government have put the Shehbaz Sharif government and Army Chief Asim Munir on the defensive. In a public meeting organized in Lyari, Karachi, Maulana Fazlur Rehman directly asked sharp questions on Pakistan’s military strategy and its approach towards Afghanistan. These questions of his have not only created a sensation within the country but have also made Pakistan’s position more uncomfortable at the international level. Maulana Fazlur Rehman bluntly asked the Pakistani generals and rulers that if Pakistan considers its attacks on Kabul justified, then how can it justify the strikes done by India on Muridke and Bahawalpur.
He said that if one country violates the sovereignty of another country and attacks, then it no longer has the moral right to point fingers at others. It is noteworthy that India had targeted terrorist bases like Muridke and Bahawalpur inside Pakistan to respond to the Pahalgam attack in May 2025. This statement of Maulana has shaken the old narrative of Pakistan, in which it has always shown itself as a victim. After these sharp attacks by Maulana, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had to come forward to give clarification. Terming the comparison of Maulana Fazlur Rehman as wrong and inappropriate, he said that Islamabad’s action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the attack by India are not similar. The defense minister claimed that Pakistan was protecting its sovereignty, while India’s actions were provocative and illegal. However, Khawaja Asif remained silent on the concrete evidence that was recovered from the terrorists of Pahalgam, nor did he have any answer to the air strike in Afghanistan in which innocent children lost their lives. Maulana also showed the government a mirror on Pakistan’s deteriorating relations with Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan wants an Afghanistan that is in its favor, but history is witness that from Zahir Shah to Ashraf Ghani, the governments in Kabul have always been close to India. At present the tension between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban is at its peak. Pakistan alleges that Afghan land is being used for attacks on its soil, while Kabul vehemently rejects these allegations. Several rounds of peace talks between the two countries have failed and border clashes have become a common occurrence. This courageous stand of Maulana Fazlur Rehman has given rise to a debate within Pakistan, which the army and the government had been trying to suppress for a long time.
