Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that Pakistan ’ s economy had left the “ intensive care unit ”. He made the remarks while speaking in the National Assembly, during which he also talked concerning insecurity in Balochistan and Pakistan ’ s role in brokering the agreement with the United States and Iran. The situation continues to evolve, with further updates anticipated shortly.

Context and History

To put this in perspective, analysts point to a number of relevant factors.

In his remarks, the defence minister also addressed the issue of terrorism in Balochistan, saying that the situation had not been created “ yesterday or the day before ” but that lots of people had contributed to it.

“ I can accuse my brothers on that side of the aisle about what happened in their time, and they can accuse me, but it goes back to the 50s, ” he noted, adding, “ If we want to search for a solution, we have to search for it collectively. ” Talking about Islamabad ’ s role in brokering the agreement between the US and Iran, Asif confirmed that the “ greatness ” of Pakistan had been recognised by the whole world within one year, stressing the efforts of the army leadership as well as the prime minister and the “ whole team ” working with them in this regard.

In what observers are describing as a key detail, “ They created the impossible possible. ” He also noted that India ’ s Prime Minister Modi, in his statement on the US-Iran agreement, had congratulated US President Donald Trump but neglected to include Pakistan ’ s name in the statement despite its heavy involvement in the process.

Reactions and Responses

With opinions divided in some quarters, the overall assessment remains significant.

Mustafa Kamal lambasts ‘ flawed ’ NFC award distribution formula Earlier in the session, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on had criticised the formula of fund distribution under the Domestic Finance Commission ( NFC) award — which is based on the size of every provinces ’ population — as “ flawed ”.

Adding further dimension to the story, in his remarks during the National Assembly, where a debate on the federal budget fiscal year 2026-27 was ongoing, Kamal noted that the NFC formula was 82 per cent population-based.

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter indicate that health Minister Mustafa Kamal addresses the National Assembly on June 16, 2026.

Policy Implications

The broader implications of this development are already coming into focus.

— @ NAofPakistan/X “ What province will reduce its income by controlling the population? ” the minister, who belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan ( MQM-P), said.

Notably, “ Balochistan is the smallest province [ population-wise] and gets the lowest share [ in the NFC].

Meanwhile, sources familiar with the matter indicate that without mentioning the name of any country, the health minister added that “ in our neighbouring country, the weightage of population in the NFC award is 17pc, ” while the rest was based on “ revenue, backwardness, income and other areas ”.

What has become increasingly clear is that in his remarks, Kamal stated that “ neighbouring countries are growing because they have controlled ” their population growth.

In a detail that has not gone unnoticed, he also lauded the government ’ s proposal in the budget to remove tax on contraceptives, which was earlier set at 18pc, sayi

The Road Ahead

The situation is far from resolved, and additional details are expected to emerge as the story develops. Officials have indicated that further statements may be forthcoming, and observers will be watching closely.