Defense minister says ‘Zionist agenda’ risks regional realignment threatening Pakistan’s security as conflict widens
Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned that the conflict involving Iran could have wider regional ramifications for Pakistan, saying the war is driven by a Zionist agenda aimed at expanding Israeli influence towards Pakistan’s borders.
“Zionism is a threat to humanity. From the establishment of Israel on the land of Palestine until today, every disaster that has befallen the Islamic world, every war imposed on it, will show the direct or indirect hand of Zionist ideology and the state,” he writes in a post on X.
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He said such developments could create a hostile alignment involving Afghanistan, Iran and India, leaving Pakistan surrounded by adversaries and threatening its security.
“Zionism is a threat to humanity. From the establishment of Israel on the land of Palestine until today, every disaster that befalls the Islamic world, every war that is imposed on it, will show the direct or indirect hand of the Zionist ideology and the state. Zionism has…
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) March 3, 2026
Asif added that Pakistanis of all political and religious backgrounds needed to recognize what he described as a wider conspiracy against the country. He argued that the proposed regional realignment would make Pakistan’s borders insecure and risk reducing the country to a “vassal state”. His remarks came as he linked the current conflict to long-standing regional tensions, framing it as part of a wider struggle involving Pakistan’s sovereignty and strategic position.
The minister also praised Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent and armed forces and paid tribute to the country’s martyrs and veterans, while praising former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for authorizing the nuclear tests that declared Pakistan a nuclear power. He concluded his message with prayers for unity in the Islamic world, support for Palestine and continued strength and security for Pakistan.
“May Palestine be free. May our homeland remain strong and secure until Judgment Day.”
Iran-US/Israel war
The wider conflict has continued to intensify, with US President Donald Trump warning that a “big wave” of attacks on Iran was still to come, while senior US officials said the campaign could take time and involve further casualties. Washington said its aim was to degrade Iran’s missiles, naval assets and wider security infrastructure, even as US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted the operation would not be an “endless war”.
The fighting has also spread beyond Iran, where Israel said it carried out strikes in Beirut targeting Hezbollah-linked sites and senior figures after Hezbollah acknowledged firing missiles and drones at Israel. Iranian state media reported new missile launches at Israeli targets, while residents of Tehran and Beirut described explosions and panic as the confrontation widened across multiple fronts.
Gulf states including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates joined the United States in condemning Iranian missile and drone strikes across the region. Iran’s ambassador to the UN nuclear watchdog, meanwhile, said the Natanz nuclear facility had been hit in US-Israeli strikes.
The fallout is increasingly felt outside the battlefield. Shipping traffic in and around the Gulf has been disrupted, major Middle Eastern airports have faced closures and hundreds of Iranians were seen crossing into Turkey as fears grew of further escalation. The growing crisis has also increased political pressure in the United States, where polls cited in the report suggested only limited public support for a longer military campaign.
