ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday criticised National Assembly (NA) Opposition Leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai over his recent remarks about the army, saying that the “irresponsible” statement was an attempt to “belittle the sacrifices” of security personnel.

Asif’s rebuke came during a session of the lower house of Parliament, where he recalled Achakzai’s recent remarks and quoted him as saying that the army was a “force of four districts”. Asif did not elaborate on the context of the remarks attributed to Achakzai.

Terming it “highly irresponsible” and a “deliberate attempt to malign” the national institution, Asif asserted that the army was a national force.

“It is the force of the federation, with representation from all provinces,” he stressed. “It is the force of the entire country.”

During his address, the minister also shared data about the representation of different provinces in the army, reading out statistics from a document.

According to the document, seen by Dawn, the province-wise representation in consonance with the population of districts in the army as per the 2023 census was 51.1 per cent from Punjab, 16.28pc from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 20.52pc from Sindh, 6.04pc from Balochistan, 2.54pc from Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and 3.52pc from the minorities.

However, while reading out the numbers, Asif mistakenly stated that representation from Punjab was 91.1pc instead of 51.1pc. He also highlighted that the armed forces had rendered several sacrifices in the fight against terrorism.

“Over the past five years, 3,141 personnel, including officers, junior commissioned officers, and jawans have embraced martyrdom in this fight,” the defence minister said, adding that those martyrs were from all regions of the country. According to data shared by Asif, those martyrs included 170 officers, 212 junior commissioned officers and 2759 soldiers.

He added that the opposition leader’s “irresponsible statement is an attempt to belittle these sacrifices and tantamount to attacking public sentiments”.

The minister said that the opposition leader’s position was a respectable one and such statements were not expected from Achakzai.

He further asserted that the fight against terrorism was not confined to any particular province or district, but “is a collective struggle of the entire nation”.

“Martyrs are our red line … We are indebted to the martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for our safety and protection,” he said.

Asif went on to say, “We are in the middle of a very bloody war. Daily …”

At this point, the NA’s live stream was disrupted for less than a minute. When the stream resumed, the defence minister said that “such attacks and behaviour, the spilling of blood is not allowed in our religion”.

“The bodies of our soldiers are decapitated after their martyrdom. This is also happening. It is happening in Tirah Valley,” he said.

Turning his attention to politicians, he said, “We are fighting a war for our political interests. If someone says that we are fighting for the country, then they are wrong. We are fighting a war for our political interests and power. Over the past 60-70 years, whenever someone was deprived of power, they fought for it, and there were no underlying principles in that fight.

“And then a voice is raised in this house that it (army) is a force of four districts. I don’t want to use any strong words for this house as it has earned me immense respect.”

But, he continued, if an individual crossed a “line drawn with blood” while safeguarding their political interests, they had no right to “sit in this house”.

The defence minister also said that “no voice is raised from Balochistan when Punjabis are shot after their identity cards are checked … I don’t believe in provincial discrimination, but I take strong exception [to Achakzai’s remark]”.

He also moved a resolution, which paid tribute to the armed forces for their “unparalleled sacrifices” in the fight against terrorism. The resolution was adopted by the house, which reaffirmed its commitment that the sacrifices of the martyrs would not go in vain.

The resolution underscored that the nation was standing firmly alongside the armed forces in the fight against terrorism.

It further lauded the “professional capabilities, bravery and dedication” of the military, declaring full support for its continued efforts to safeguard national security, uphold stability and maintain peace across the country.

Achakzai, who joined the NA proceedings midway through Asif’s speech, responded to the defence minister, saying that he stood by his words and would continue to speak against the “enemies of democracy”.

“You have punished us for supporting democracy”, he remarked and raised the question that whether Parliament was supposed to “justify martial law”.

The opposition leader also commented that relations with Afghanistan could not improve until “we stop deeming the neighbouring country as our fifth province”.

PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan also spoke during the session, raising objection to his party being held responsible for terrorism in the country.

“Terrorists are our enemies wherever they are”, he said.

Gohar further criticised the government for “using the crutches of the establishment to rule the country”.

Gohar also reminded the defence minister that he used to openly criticise the army in the past and alleged that his statement in the house was “an attempt to divide the nation”.

NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, however, contended that sharing data on the number of martyrs could not be termed an attempt to divide the nation.

NA passes 6 bills

During the session, the short of quorum NA also passed six bills amid an outcry from the opposition, with Speaker Sadiq refusing to order a count.

Just 66 members were present in the house at the time of passage of the bills after rules were suspended to take those up for immediate consideration.

The bills included the Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Cannabis Control and Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, The Pakistan Names and Emblems (Prevention of Unauthorised Use) (Amendment) Bill, 2026, National Archives (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and Islamabad Capital Territory Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2025.