Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday accused what he described as a “Zionist agenda” of seeking to extend Israeli influence to Pakistan’s borders amid the ongoing war between Israel and Iran, Geo News reported. In a post on social media platform X, Asif claimed that the conflict had been imposed despite Tehran’s willingness to pursue an agreement, and suggested that its underlying objective was to encircle Pakistan strategically.
Asif told Pakistanis, regardless of political or religious affiliation, to recognise what he termed a coordinated regional conspiracy that he said threatened Pakistan’s sovereignty. He characterised Zionism as a longstanding threat, alleging that the ideology and the State of Israel had played a direct or indirect role in past conflicts and crises facing the Islamic world since Israel’s founding. Asif also paid tribute to Pakistan’s nuclear capability and its armed forces’ role in safeguarding national security, and praised former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for advancing Pakistan’s nuclear status.
The defence minister warned that the purported agenda behind the broader Middle East conflict could involve Afghanistan, Iran and India in actions directed against Pakistan, leading to insecure borders and strategic encirclement of the country. He called for unity across the Muslim world, urged support for the Palestinian cause and stressed the need for Pakistan to remain resilient and secure in the face of external pressures.
The remarks come amid heightened regional tensions after joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliatory missile and drone attacks across the Gulf, which have disrupted international energy markets and raised concerns over wider military escalation. Pakistan has separately condemned attacks on Iran and called for de‑escalation through diplomacy at the United Nations.