ISLAMABAD: A news anchor affiliated with Pakistan Television (PTV) has been sacked from his job for a recent visit to Israel, the information minister said on Monday, reaffirming Islamabad’s “principled stance” on the Palestine conflict.
Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has repeatedly expressed its support for the establishment of an independent State of Palestine with pre-1967 borders in accordance with relevant United Nations and Organization of Islamic Cooperation resolutions.
Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Sinai Peninsula the Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights in the 1967 war. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future free state, a demand Pakistan has supported for decades.
In recent weeks, Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s comments at the World Economic Forum that he had received a delegation of Pakistani-Americans sparked controversy, and raised questions about whether the group had visited Israel in an official capacity. Pictures of the delegation’s visit were also widely shared on social media.
“The PTV anchor involved in the tour has been terminated,” Marriyum Auranzeb was quoted by state news agency APP as saying. “The anchor was on tour in his personal capacity.”
Though the information minister did not name the journalist, it is widely believed she was referring to Ahmed Qureshi, who has hosted a show on state TV and was seen in various pictures of the delegation’s visit.
On Sunday, the foreign office denied reports the delegation had state backing, saying the trip was organized by a foreign non-government organization (NGO) that was not based in Pakistan.
“Pakistan’s position on the Palestinian issue is clear and unambiguous. There is no change whatsoever in our policy on which there is complete national consensus,” a foreign office statement said. “Pakistan steadfastly supports the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination.”
