Ask who runs Pakistan’s defence establishment and the answer has been the same across three governments: Khawaja Muhammad Asif. The 76-year-old PML-N veteran from Sialkot is on his third stint as defence minister — and in 2025–26, his blunt television interviews made him one of the most quoted ministers in South Asia. Here is the full profile: the politician, the record, and the flashpoints.
Quick answer: The current defence minister of Pakistan is Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who assumed charge as Minister for Defence and Defence Production on 13 March 2024 (he also holds Aviation). Born 9 August 1949 in Sialkot, the PML-N leader previously held the portfolio in 2013–17 and 2022–23, and earlier served as foreign minister (2017–18).
Who Is Khawaja Asif?
Khawaja Muhammad Asif was born on 9 August 1949 in Sialkot, Punjab — the city whose constituency (now NA-71 Sialkot-II) he has represented in the National Assembly, on and off, since 1993. Educated at Cadet College Hasan Abdal, Government College Lahore and the London School of Economics (MSc Economics, 1975), with an LLB from Punjab University, he is among the most academically credentialed ministers in the cabinet.
Politically, he is PML-N to the core: the party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly and a confidant of Nawaz Sharif dating back decades. His cabinet CV is unusually broad — Water and Power (2013–17), Foreign Minister (2017–18) under Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Petroleum Minister briefly in 2008 — but defence is the portfolio that defines him.
Three Stints as Defence Minister
First stint (November 2013 – July 2017): additional charge alongside Water and Power in Nawaz Sharif’s third government — the years of Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the Karachi operation. Second stint (April 2022 – August 2023): full-time defence minister in Shehbaz Sharif‘s first government, steering the portfolio through the post-Imran political crisis. Third stint (13 March 2024 – present): re-appointed in the second Shehbaz government, this time with Defence Production formally attached and Aviation as an additional charge — the fullest version of the job he has held.
Continuity matters in this office: Asif’s repeated tenures mean foreign counterparts — from the SCO defence ministers’ table to Gulf capitals — deal with a known quantity. In August 2026 he signed the Pakistan–Kuwait Protocol Agreement-2026 on military training and cooperation, the latest in a steady run of defence-diplomacy files.
The 2025–26 Flashpoints
Asif does not do quiet diplomacy on television — and twice in 2025 his interviews became international news. During the April–May 2025 India-Pakistan crisis after the Pahalgam attack, he told Sky News the confrontation could lead to “all-out war” and made a startling admission about Pakistan’s past militant proxies; days later he told Bloomberg that Indian soldiers had been captured, a claim he retracted on Samaa TV. Then in September 2025, his remarks implying a nuclear dimension to the new Pakistan–Saudi defence pact set off a regional debate before he clarified to Reuters that nuclear arms were “not on the radar” of the agreement.
In October 2026 he turned his fire domestically, accusing the PTI’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of “criminal apathy” toward terrorism and warning of “important decisions” — classic Asif: the minister as political attack dog, a role no predecessor played quite so publicly. For the office behind the man, read our main guide: Defense Minister of Pakistan: The Office, Its Powers and Who Holds It.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the current defence minister of Pakistan in 2026?
Khawaja Muhammad Asif — in office since 13 March 2024 as Minister for Defence and Defence Production (plus Aviation as additional charge).
How many times has Khawaja Asif been defence minister?
Three times: 2013–17 (additional charge), 2022–23, and 2024–present — more stints than any other recent holder.
Which party does Khawaja Asif belong to?
The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) — he is the party’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly and a longtime Nawaz Sharif loyalist from Sialkot.
What did Khawaja Asif say about the 2025 India-Pakistan crisis?
In April–May 2025 interviews he warned of “all-out war,” made a controversial admission about past militant proxies on Sky News, and claimed (then retracted) that Indian soldiers had been captured — remarks that drew global attention and domestic criticism alike.
Related Guides
- Defense Minister of Pakistan — the office, its powers and how command really works
- Shehbaz Sharif — the prime minister who appointed Asif to the job
- Nawaz Sharif: Pakistan’s Three-Time Ex-Prime Minister — the party leader Asif has served for decades
- US–Iran Talks Likely in Islamabad — the defence-diplomacy circuit Asif works
