Maulana Fazlur Rehman Slams Pakistan Army Over ‘Double Standards’ on Cross-Border Strikes

Islamabad: Senior Pakistani political leader and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has launched a sharp critique of Pakistan’s military establishment, questioning what he described as Islamabad’s “double standards” on cross-border military actions.

Drawing a comparison between Pakistan’s operations in Afghanistan and India’s recent military response under Operation Sindoor, Fazlur Rehman targeted the Pakistan Army leadership under General Asim Munir. He argued that if Pakistan justifies launching strikes inside Afghanistan, it has little moral or political ground to oppose similar actions undertaken by India.

“How can we oppose India’s actions,” he asked, “if we ourselves claim the right to enter Afghanistan and strike hostile targets?” Fazlur Rehman said that if Pakistan considers it legitimate to target enemies across the Afghan border, it cannot reject India’s stated intent to strike terror infrastructure in places such as Bahawalpur and Muridke—locations New Delhi has long identified as bases responsible for attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

He further pointed out what he described as a contradiction in Pakistan’s stance. “Afghanistan is today making the same allegations against Pakistan that we make against India,” he said. “How can these two opposing positions be justified at the same time?”

Operation Sindoor and Regional Context

Operation Sindoor refers to India’s missile strikes carried out on May 7 in response to the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. In the operation, India targeted nine alleged terror facilities in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including the Jaish-e-Mohammed headquarters in Bahawalpur and the Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Muridke.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan authorities of sheltering militant groups hostile to Pakistan—allegations that the Taliban have denied. Pakistan’s military actions along the Afghan border, which have reportedly resulted in civilian casualties, have drawn criticism from India.

Reacting to these developments, Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said attacks on innocent Afghan civilians were unacceptable and strongly condemned Pakistan’s military operations that caused civilian deaths.

A longstanding critic of Pakistan’s Afghanistan policy, Fazlur Rehman has previously offered to act as a mediator between Islamabad and Kabul, underlining the need for de-escalation and dialogue to prevent further regional instability.