ISLAMABAD: Foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri has said Pakistan had taken serious exception to an Israeli far-right politician posting a video on social media showing the image of a hospital in Pakistan while claiming it was a Hamas headquarter and “the largest medical complex in Gaza.”
Pakistan has launched a diplomatic onslaught since last month in support of Palestine and to mobilize international support against Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza strip. The attacks killed over 240 people in the Palestinian territory between May 10 and May 21 when a cease-fire was announced.
Israeli far-right politician and former war minister Naftali Bennett posted a video on May 20 showing an image of a hospital that he said was the “largest medical complex in Gaza” and a Hamas headquarter from where the group was “conducting terror actions against Israel.”
Social media users were quick to point out that the photo was of Shifa International Hospital in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
“We have seen the statement by Israel’s former war minister and we believe that it is casual misjudgment at best, and deliberate misrepresentation at worst,” foreign office spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhari told Arab News. “We also take serious exception to the fact that a Pakistani building was misquoted in the statement.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s special representative on the Middle East, Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, called Bennett’s video a deliberate attempt to mislead the world.
“Israel is frustrated due to Pakistan’s active role in highlighting the Palestinian issue and Israeli atrocities infant of the whole world,” Ashrafi told Arab News. “It is a deliberate attempt to mislead and deceive the world as Israel has destroyed actual health facilities in Gaza. We condemn this attempt to malign Pakistan.”
Ashrafi added: “Pakistan will continue it’s support for the Palestinian people till the formation of an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.”
Shuja Rauf, a spokesperson for Shifa, said it was “clear that the image of Shifa International Hospital (SIH) Islamabad has been shown mistakenly. SIH is Pakistan’s leading private sector hospital, accredited with Joint Commission, United States. The hospital has been providing quality health care services to Pakistanis for over 28 years. We accordingly emphasize to remove the said visual.”
Pakistan takes ‘serious exception’ to Israeli politician misusing Shifa hospital's image in social media video
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Pakistan takes ‘serious exception’ to Israeli politician misusing Shifa hospital's image in social media video
- Israeli politician Naftali Bennett posted a video on May 20 showing image of a hospital he said was a Hamas headquarter in Gaza
- Social media users were quick to point out the image was of Shifa International Hospital in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad
Former spy chief Faiz Hameed appeals conviction by Pakistan military court
- The ex-ISI chief was sentenced to 14 years in prison over engagement in political activities, misuse of authority
- His conviction is highly unusual in a country where the military has ruled for almost half of its 78-year history
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former intelligence chief Lt. Gen. (retired) Faiz Hameed has appealed his sentencing to 14 years in prison by a Pakistani military court, Hameed’s lawyer said on Sunday.
Hameed was arrested in Aug. 2024 amid accusations he was involved in land grabbing and coercive seizures of property belonging to the owner of the Top City housing development near Islamabad. At the time, the military said multiple violations of the Pakistan Army Act after his retirement had also been established, prompting court martial proceedings.
On Dec. 11, Pakistan’s military announced that Hameed was found guilty of engaging in political activities, violating the Official Secrets Act and misusing authority and government resources as the chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency.
“We have filed an appeal against the sentence handed down to Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed by the military courts. The appeal was submitted to the Registrar Court of Appeals, AG Branch, Chief of Army Staff,” Hameed’s counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq told Arab News, without providing further details.
Hameed served as the ISI director-general from 2019 to 2021. His conviction is highly unusual in a country where the military has ruled for almost half of its history and continues to exert significant influence during civilian rule.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, had said that Hameed was tried on four charges relating to political interference, breaches of the Official Secrets Act, misuse of authority and causing “wrongful loss to persons.”
“After lengthy and laborious legal proceedings, accused has been found guilty on all charges and sentenced to 14 years rigorous imprisonment by the Court which has been promulgated on 11 December 2025,” the ISPR said on Dec. 11.
Hameed was widely seen as close to Imran Khan when he was the prime minister and after his removal in a no-trust vote in 2022.
The military had previously accused Hameed of helping engineer political unrest during violent clashes on May 9, 2023, when Khan supporters rioted nationwide after his brief arrest on graft charges. Protesters were accused of torching government and military buildings “at the behest of and in collusion with vested political interests.” Khan, jailed since August 2023 on charges he says are politically motivated, denies ordering the attacks.
In its Dec. 11 statement, the military said the trial against Hameed complied with all legal requirements, adding that the former spy chief was given full rights, including the ability to choose his defense team, and retained the right to appeal “at the relevant forum.”
The ISPR also said his alleged role in “fomenting vested political agitation and instability in cahoots with political elements” was being handled separately, leading to speculation about more inquiries and legal cases.
Hameed, who retired in Dec. 2022, has long been a polarizing figure. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) also accuses him of helping engineer the 2017 removal of former premier Nawaz Sharif through court cases. Hameed denied the allegations.
“This is a landmark decision and I think the rule of law and accountability mechanism has been strengthened,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who belongs to the PMLN-N, had told a Pakistani broadcaster after the announcement of the verdict against Hameed.
