'Pomegranate can’t enter but terrorists do’: Pakistan leader takes swipe at military over rising terror | Watch

The JUI-F chief also lashed out at Pakistan’s foreign and economic policies

• Rehman criticizes Pakistan's approach to militancy and Afghan policy
• He questions how terrorists cross the border while trade with Afghanistan is closed.
• Rehman: Pakistan's foreign policy controlled by military, not civilians

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Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Pakistan’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), criticised Islamabad’s handling of militancy and its Afghanistan policy, questioning how extremist elements continue to cross the border even as trade remains shut.

Addressing a public gathering in Rawalpindi, Rehman pointed to what he called a stark contradiction in Pakistan’s approach towards Kabul. “In all these decades, we never stopped to ask why our Afghan policy failed so miserably. Not a single pomegranate or melon can enter Pakistan, yet terrorists keep crossing the border,” he said.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s question to the Field Marshal and DG ISPR:

If even fruits cannot cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan, how are terrorists entering? And why has Pakistan never been willing to cooperate with any Afghan government, from Zahir Shah’s era to the present? pic.twitter.com/RZSdYIXblY — برهان الدین ‏| Burhan uddin (@burhan_uddin_0) February 8, 2026

He also referred to repeated claims by Pakistani authorities that militants were infiltrating from Afghanistan. “They say terrorists are coming from there. If they are, then stop them. If they are coming, eliminate them. The Afghan government has never objected to your actions,” he said.

The JUI-F chief also lashed out at Pakistan’s foreign and economic policies, branding them “complete failures”.

The JUI-F chief said Pakistan’s policies had failed so badly that the country now found itself isolated on all sides. “India is our enemy, Afghanistan is our enemy, and even Iran and China are upset with us,” he said, adding that the people of Pakistan deserved answers. “A nation cannot survive when its policies result only in isolation, mistrust and insecurity.”

Rehman also contended that Pakistan’s foreign policy was not framed by the civilian government but dictated by the military establishment. “One general comes and says we will negotiate; another comes and says we will go to war,” he said.

According to him, Pakistan’s foreign policy was not being driven by elected governments but by the military establishment.

He also criticised the government’s handling of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project intended to revive Pakistan’s economy, saying it had stalled amid waning Chinese confidence. “There has been no real progress on CPEC during this tenure because China no longer trusts us,” Rehman said.