Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday denied allegations that Pakistan’s armed forces were trying to gain control of mineral resources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). He said military institutions had obtained only one mining licence in the province, while thousands had been issued under the governments of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
The remarks come after President Asif Ali Zardari, acting on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, imposed an emergency and governor’s rule in KP on October 11, 2026. The move was made under Articles 232 and 234 of the Constitution and suspended the PTI-led provincial government headed by Sohail Afridi.
Official licence figures cited by the defence minister
Speaking at a press conference on October 17, Asif accused the former PTI-led provincial administrations of handing out mining licences to people linked to the party’s leadership and to others based in the United States. He said neither defence institutions nor their subsidiary organisations held any direct or indirect ownership of mineral resources in the province. “Neither defence institutions nor their subsidiary organisations have any direct or indirect ownership of mineral resources in KP,” Asif said.
In an earlier post on X, the minister shared what he described as official government data. According to those figures, the province had 482 mineral licences or titles between independence in 1947 and 2010. The total rose to 1,762 by 2020 and 3,962 by February 2024, and currently stands at 4,917. Of these:
- 4,133 licences are in settled districts
- 784 licences are in the merged districts
Asif also said the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) was the only military-affiliated body to have received a mining licence in KP. That licence, he said, was issued in 2015 for the Boya area of North Waziristan, where the FWO had carried out construction and rehabilitation work. He added that more than 500 new mining licence applications were under consideration, and none had been filed by military institutions.
Asif challenges PTI and urges media to check records
During the press conference, Asif questioned claims that the emergency was designed to help the military take control of the province’s natural resources. He alleged that the PTI government had issued thousands of licences, including to members of the party’s leadership in KP, while serving the interests of people in the United States as well.
The minister said he had published the names of mining licence holders on social media and had referred to information shared by the director general of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). He urged journalists to examine the licence records independently and to request official information on how the licences were allocated. “Media is independent. You can investigate yourselves and demand that this official information be provided,” he said.
Asif also said the federal government’s intervention in KP aimed to restore security, not to advance political or economic interests. He said parliament could consider the emergency and even withdraw it, but only if there was a guarantee that conditions in the province would improve. He noted that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other government representatives had held repeated talks with PTI and opposition leaders, though these had not produced an agreement.
He further accused PTI leaders of failing to attend the funerals of security personnel killed in terrorist attacks, while mobilising large crowds for protests and marches towards Islamabad. “Name even one funeral of a martyr that PTI leaders attended,” Asif said, adding that the party would not be allowed to hand KP back to what he called looters.
Fazlur Rehman criticised over shifting political stances
The defence minister also criticised Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman for opposing governor’s rule, accusing him of changing his political positions to serve his own interests. Asif suggested Fazlur Rehman had expected a share in the new administrative setup that followed the removal of the PTI government, and had received nothing. “If they were expecting to receive some spoils from this change and did not get anything, we are there to improve the situation,” he said.
Asif recalled that Fazlur Rehman had been associated with former military ruler General Pervez Musharraf. “When I was criticising military interference, Maulana Fazlur Rehman was standing with Musharraf,” he said. He claimed Fazlur Rehman had become opposition leader during Musharraf’s rule with the administration’s backing, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had been denied that role. The minister said he remained on good personal terms with the JUI-F chief but questioned the consistency of his alliances. He also noted that PTI figures who had once criticised Fazlur Rehman were now welcoming his support.
Military’s diplomatic and economic record defended
Asif defended the armed forces against criticism of their role in political and economic affairs. He said military institutions had made a significant contribution to the country’s diplomatic and economic interests over the past three years. He acknowledged having previously criticised military intervention in politics, especially under former military rulers, but said those periods differed from the current arrangement.
The minister credited military leadership with advancing Pakistan’s ties with friendly countries, including Saudi Arabia, and said Field Marshal Asim Munir had led major diplomatic and defence initiatives. He also praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for keeping civilian and military institutions working together. Asif claimed the Fauji Foundation had paid Rs323 billion in taxes in the previous year, and contrasted this with state-owned enterprises run by the civilian bureaucracy. He argued that military-run organisations had shown stronger financial results than several civilian-managed public institutions, pointing to the closure of Pakistan Steel Mills.
Asif maintained that security remained the federal government’s main concern in KP. He warned political parties against using the emergency to pursue positions or other political gains.
