Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday was forced to delete his highly anti-Semitic tweet earlier targeting Jewish country that nearly undermined Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts to facilitate long-term peace in West Asia following Israel's sharp reaction.
Furious Israel response rattles Pakistan
In a strongly worded response, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar rebuked Pakistan over the defence minister’s statement, saying that calling the Jewish state “cancerous” amounted to “calling for Israel’s annihilation.”
“Israel views very gravely these blatant antisemitic blood libels from a government claiming to ‘mediate peace’. Calling the Jewish state ‘cancerous’ is effectively calling for its annihilation. Israel will defend itself against terrorists who vow its destruction,” Sa’ar said in a post on X.
The Israeli foreign minister further denounced Islamabad’s mediation pitch and vowing to defend itself against “terrorists” seeking Tel Aviv’s destruction.
Following Israel's relentless airstrikes across Lebanon that killed over 300 people, Asif in a tweet described Israel as “evil”, a “curse for humanity”, and a “cancerous state”, while labelling its strikes on Lebanon as genocide. The tweet also targeted Tel Aviv over civilian deaths in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon, and included a controversial reference to European Jews.
“Israel is evil and a curse on humanity. While peace talks are underway in Islamabad, genocide is being committed in Lebanon. Innocent citizens are being killed by Israel - first Gaza, then Iran, and now Lebanon. Bloodletting continues unabated. I hope and pray that those who created this cancerous state on Palestinian land to get rid of European Jews… burn in hell.”
Soon after Israel's angry response, the Pakistan defence minister's tweet was hastily deleted.
What sparked the controversy?
The controversy comes after the declaration of a temporary two-week ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, along with fresh peace talks in Pakistan, Israel bombed Lebanon killing over 300 people.
Asif’s remarks were unusually harsh and inflammatory, directly targeting Israel for its actions in Iran, Gaza, and Lebanon. The reference to European Jews, along with remarks about removing them from Palestinian land, was widely seen as a genocidal call and drew stern global criticism.
Donning the mediator role
Pakistan has positioned itself as a facilitator in West Asian peace efforts, projecting itself as a neutral player, which even cornered Islamabad further, following the explosive remarks on X by Asif.
