Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has launched a sharp critique of his own country’s military and foreign policy, questioning how militants continue to enter Pakistan when even basic trade from neighbouring Afghanistan is tightly restricted.

Addressing a public gathering in Rawalpindi, Rehman mocked official claims that terrorists were crossing over from Afghanistan, remarking that “not even a single pomegranate or a melon” can enter Pakistan from across the border, yet militants somehow do. If such infiltration is happening, he said, authorities should stop and eliminate those responsible instead of repeatedly blaming external actors.

The JUI-F leader went on to question Pakistan’s decades-long Afghanistan policy, asking why successive Afghan governments—from the era of King Zahir Shah to the present Taliban-led administration—have failed to maintain stable relations with Islamabad. Rehman argued that governments of every ideological stripe have come and gone in Kabul, yet Pakistan’s approach has remained unsuccessful for nearly eight decades.

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He further criticised Islamabad’s broader diplomatic posture, calling it a “total failure” that has harmed national interests. Pakistan, he said, faces strained relations on multiple fronts, including with India, Afghanistan, Iran, and even China, despite claims by policymakers that they are acting in the country’s best interests. “All they have done is destroy the country,” Rehman told the crowd.

His remarks come amid heightened security concerns following a deadly suicide bombing at a Shi’ite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and injured more than 170 others. According to officials, the attacker opened fire at the mosque’s entrance before detonating explosives inside the compound.

Pakistan’s defence and interior officials have alleged that the bomber travelled to Afghanistan, a claim rejected by the Taliban administration, which termed the accusations baseless. Afghan authorities have instead urged Pakistan to address internal security lapses rather than shifting blame to neighbouring countries.

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