Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has launched a strong criticism against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), contractors, and certain bureaucrats, accusing them of jointly destroying his hometown, Sialkot.
In a post on social media platform X, accompanied by a video, Asif claimed that PTI’s local leadership, contractor ZKB, and a few bureaucrats were responsible for the devastation. “I will not spare them, even till my grave,” he wrote.
The minister said the voice in the shared video belonged to PTI leader Umar Farooq Mayer, who had raised concerns during the caretaker government’s tenure. He added that his recent conversation with the project’s director confirmed his concerns and stance.
Khawaja Asif explained that the controversial project was launched in 2019 under the PTI government. He noted that PTI founding member Umar Farooq Mayer had already predicted the project’s failure at that time, naming the Dar brothers in his remarks.
According to Asif, ZKB, the contractor behind the project, is a powerful figure with strong influence in the upper house of parliament. He recalled first meeting ZKB in 2013 when he was Minister for Water and Power, as ZKB was seeking a contract in Balochistan — a matter that, he said, involved political lobbying.
In a follow-up post, Asif sarcastically remarked: “Even floods seem like foreign agents; they don’t damage 200-year-old British bridges, but wash away those built by our so-called patriotic contractors.”
The minister reiterated his vow to continue holding PTI, contractors, and complicit bureaucrats accountable for what he described as the destruction of Sialkot.
