Speaking during debate in the National Assembly on President Thabo Mbeki's state of the nation address, he said once again "we have been subjected to hysterical concerns about our so-called failure to tackle the Zimbabwe issue".
The government remained convinced that the collapse of Zimbabwe would have serious implications for the whole region and especially South Africa.
"Why would we want this to happen?" he asked.
South Africa's quiet diplomacy was criticised without any credible suggestions on what "we should do more than what we are doing".
"Our critics fail to explain what 'megaphone diplomacy' has achieved.
"They fail or refuse to acknowledge that since the political and economic crisis started we have been tirelessly engaged in efforts to help the Zimbabweans to deal with their crisis.
"Any honest person, not motivated by hidden agendas, must acknowledge that we have consistently, bilaterally or through SADC, raised areas of concern and sought solutions.
"The Commonwealth mandated us to engage with the Zimbabweans to tackle some of these issues."
There had been some progress. Among other things, the Zimbabweans had agreed to look at some of their legislation on the media, and they would also look at legislation that had been described as anti-democratic, he said.
"The Zimbabwean government has declared that the land distribution programme is over, and admit that some mistakes were made.
"They have assured us that discussions are taking place with Zimbabwean farmers who lost their farms.
"There are still areas of concern that are being discussed and hopefully solutions will be found.
"Let me once again categorically state that we reject any suggestion of regime change by force. Also, no Zimbabwean has called for sanctions and so this is not an option. We must accept that Zimbabwe is not the 10th province of South Africa," he said.
"Sadly, the DA is trying to whip up minority fears by suggesting that what is happening in Zimbabwe will happen in South Africa.
This is a very dangerous game, and I urge them not to persist with it.
"In the interest of Zimbabwe and the region, let us constructively assist all Zimbabweans to jointly find a solution," Pahad said - Sapa.
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