ISLAMABAD: Former adviser to prime minister Zulfi Bukhari denied Monday that he had secretly visited Israel for meetings with senior government officials, following a report in Israel Hayom newspaper that an unidentified official with a United Kingdom passport had visited Tel Aviv last November.
Bukhari holds both British and Pakistan nationalities.
“[I] DIDNOT go to Israel. [The] funny bit is Pakistani paper says I went to Israel based on ‘Israeli news source’ & Israeli paper says I went to Israel based on a ‘Pakistani source’-wonder who this imaginative Pakistani source is.” Bukhari tweeted.
DIDNOT go to Israel.
Funny bit is Pakistani paper says I went to Israel based on “Israeli news source” & Israeli paper says I went to Israel based on a “Pakistani source”-wonder who this imaginative Pakistani source is🤔Apparently, I’m the only one who was kept out of the loop. https://t.co/bcRO3osWMk
— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) June 28, 2021
“Apparently, I’m the only one who was kept out of the loop.”
According to the report in Israel Hayom, Bukhari flew to Israel from Islamabad via London. He was quoted to have met with officials from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as then-Mossad chief Yossi Cohen in Tel Aviv to pass on messages from Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.
The report, based “on a source in Islamabad”, further claimed that the visit came following “heavy pressure” from the United Arab Emirates.
In addition to Bukhari, Focal Person to Prime Minister on Digital Media Arslan Khalid also dispelled the report. “Bukhari had clarified last year that he was never sent by the government to Israel. This Israel-India-Pak fake news peddlers network is getting so boring and predictable,” he tweeted.
Our media ppl shld show a little maturity & not promote fake news.The last time when this same propaganda was run, not only did @sayedzbukhari deny & sent a legal notice but the Middle East Monitor who reported it also had to apologize for the fake news. https://t.co/jUNmfQubaF pic.twitter.com/M4a02cmeH3
— Dr Arslan Khalid (@arslankhalid_m) June 28, 2021
If confirmed, this alleged visit would not be the first contact between the two countries. In 2018, an Israeli business jet flew to Islamabad, staying on the ground for ten hours before returning.
Israel and Pakistan do not share diplomatic relations and last month Islamabad was critical of Israel for its attacks on civilian neighbourhoods in Palestine, involving the most intensive aerial exchanges for years.
At the time, the Foreign Office condemned both “Israel’s heinous attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque” and its airstrikes on Gaza, which it said violated “all norms of humanity & international law” and constituted an “indiscriminate use of force” against “defenceless Palestinians.”
“Strongly condemn Israeli Forces’ attack esp during Ramazan on Palestinians in Qibla-e-Awaal, Al-Aqsa Mosque, violating all norms of humanity & int[ernational] law,” Imran tweeted immediately prior to the outbreak of hostilities.
Both Israel and Pakistan are slated to participate in the US Sixth Fleet’s annual Sea Breeze exercise in the Black Sea. 32 countries will participate in the upcoming exercise near Russian-occupied Crimea, which Moscow has promised to closely monitor.
“Israel” ? No the Europeans never created the real Israhyeel ever, nor have the credibility to be able to do so. Israhyeel was created by the “Children of Israhyeel” who were of African origin. The correct thing is exactly what was created by the European invaders & settlers 2000 years ago on this land. It was the “Roman Outpost” in Asia.
True Jews have been telling the world since many many years that they lay no claim on Palestine thus do not go to live there. The True Jews, are indeed in despair at seeing Judaism being defamed and desecrated by those European invaders & settlers who can be seen to be behaving exactly like the Romans who invaded this land 2000 years ago.
“Real Jews”? Now our culture of takfiri is spreading to other religions?