Islamabad:
Foreign Office (FO) sought to be a controversy on the presence of the Shama Junejo columnist at the United Nations Security Pakistan meeting (USC), after his appearance triggered a widespread debate online.
In a clarification published on X late Friday evening, the FO, without naming Junejo, said: “The individual in question was not registered in the letter of official credibility for the Pakistani delegation to the 80th session of the Anga, signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs”.
“As such, his seat behind the Minister of Defense did not have the approval of the Deputy Prime Minister / Minister of Foreign Affairs,” the statement added.
The controversy broke out on September 25 when the Minister of Defense, Khawaja Asif, addressed a USC session on artificial intelligence. Photos of the event spread quickly on the X social media platform, showing Junejo sitting behind the minister. Users have also resurfaced several of its previous publications which support Israel, arousing fierce criticism.
Clarifying the question, Asif said that he had spoken to the session in place of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was engaged elsewhere during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“This woman or whoever was seated behind me was and is at the discretion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said journalists asc. He underlined his personal and long -standing commitment to the Palestinian cause and recalled his friendships and his ties with the Palestinians of his years in Abu Dhabi.
“Over the past 60 years, I have had an emotional attachment and a personal commitment to Palestine,” said the minister. “My opinions on Gaza are clear and I express them openly. I hate Israel and Zionism”.
“Who is this woman, why is she with the delegation, and why was she sitting behind me? Only the FO can answer these questions. It is not for me to answer on their behalf.”
He underlined his file on X as proof of his solidarity focused on faith with Palestine.
Responding to the tumult, Junejo herself turned to X, displaying screenshots of her recent comment on Gaza. “Young people call me a Zionist while for two years I have tweeted about Gaza almost daily, calling [Israeli PM] Netanyahu a war criminal and showing Israeli atrocities, “she wrote, using a derogatory term often applied to PTI supporters.
“Once again, this whole campaign was launched against me because they only fear me,” she added.
The episode caused reactions from the whole political and civic spectrum. Former Minister of Human Rights, Shireen Mazari, said that “one could not sit behind a Minister of the United Nations General Assembly or the United Nations Assembly unless they are identified as an official representative of the Government”.
“So, who allowed this to happen and why? Is there a secret political agenda at work, namely the Rogue Israel entity, the Bagram base, Abraham Agreements? GOP must be cleaned-who is responsible?”
