In an attempt to save face in the public, the government has decided to take some action against a government employee who visited Israel. Ahmed Qureshi, the Pakistan Television (PTV) anchor, who was part of the overseas Pakistanis’ delegation that visited Israel earlier this month, has been sacked from his job.
Minister for Information, Marriyum Aurangzeb, announced this development on Monday.
وزیراطلاعات مریم اورنگزیب کا اہم پالیسی بیان@Marriyum_A pic.twitter.com/g54cuBjM6E
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) May 30, 2022
In a statement released on PTV’s official Twitter handle, the minister said that the anchor had visited Israel in his personal capacity and that there has been no change in Pakistan’s policy towards Israel. “Pakistan’s state policy on the issue of Palestine is clear, and based on the statements of Quaid-e-Azam,” she said.
The Information Minister noted that the government would not take any action which is against the wishes and aspirations of the people of Pakistan.
Pakistan is firmly committed to its traditional and principled position on the Palestine-Israel conflict.
The Foreign Ministry has made it clear that no official delegation from Pakistan has visited Israel, she said, adding that the visit in question was arranged by a private NGO, that is based outside Pakistan.
However, rumors regarding the delegation’s visit have been around for nearly a month and the government already knew about the Pakistanis who had visited Israel using the Pakistani passport. It is only after the Israeli President’s confirmation and strong backlash by the public that the government has decided to take action against the government employee who was part of the delegation in an act of face-saving. Experts claim that it is impossible for Pakistani passport to be used to visit and return from Israel without government intervention on both sides since the Pakistani passport is invalid for Israel.
Marriyum said that Pakistan fully supports the Palestinian people’s right to a referendum in accordance with UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and considers a two-state solution to be a guarantee of lasting peace in the region.
She added that the promise of a pre-1967 Palestinian state with borders, Jerusalem as its capital, and geographical unity should be fulfilled.
