'Take Off Your Uniform': Pakistani Leader Says Army Lost Balochistan, Dares Asim Munir To Fight Elections

Published 12 July 2026 · politics

'Take Off Your Uniform': Pakistani Leader Says Army Lost Balochistan, Dares Asim Munir To Fight Elections Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 12, 2026

'Take Off Your Uniform': Pakistani Leader Says Army Lost Balochistan, Dares Asim Munir To Fight Elections Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 12, 2026, 23:13 IST Maulana Fazlur Rehman lambasted Field Marshal Asim Munir and said Pakistan has lost control over the entire Baloch region. Rapid Read JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman accused Pakistan's military of losing control over Balochistan, rejected calls for civilians to fight militants and challenged Army chief Asim Munir to quit the uniform and seek a public mandate. (IMAGE: PTI) One of Pakistan’s most influential religious and political leaders has launched a blistering attack on the country’s military establishment, accusing it of overstepping its constitutional role, meddling in politics and failing to restore the state’s writ in violence-hit Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Addressing a rally in Punjab’s Qasur, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said the military should stay within its constitutional limits and contest elections if it wished to play a political role. “If you want to do politics, then take off the uniform and come; participate in the elections, and it will become clear what votes people give to those in uniform," he said. ‘Balochistan Has Slipped Out Of Pakistan’s Control’ Fazlur Rehman painted a grim picture of Pakistan’s security situation, claiming the state had steadily lost control over large parts of Balochistan before violence engulfed Pashtun-majority regions as well.

“The country is falling apart. Where are the rulers?" he asked. “There were rebellions in the Baloch areas. The entire Baloch region had slipped out of Pakistan’s control. Even today, there is no writ of the Pakistan government there." He claimed the deteriorating security situation had now spread to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “We were holding back the Baloch region; now the Pashtun region is drowning in blood too. We have received more than fifty bodies in just two or three days." ‘You Are Creating Generational Vendettas’ Fazlur Rehman also criticised Pakistan’s security strategy, warning that asking civilians to confront armed groups would deepen social divisions and fuel violence for generations. “You will leave, but you are pushing my homeland toward personal vendettas for generations to come, pushing it forever toward murder and plunder." The remarks amount to one of the strongest public rebukes of Pakistan’s military leadership by a mainstream political figure in recent months, reviving the long-running debate over the armed forces’ role in the country’s politics and internal security. What Triggered Fazlur Rehman’s Remarks? The unusually sharp criticism came days after Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir urged civilians to stand alongside the military in its fight against militant groups, stressing that the armed forces alone could not eliminate terrorism without broader public support.