ISLAMABAD: A leading association of Pakistani journalists on Tuesday called for an investigation into a recent visit by local media professionals to Israel, describing the trip as an affront to journalists worldwide following the deaths of more than 150 media workers covering the war in Gaza.
Last month, a 10-member delegation of Pakistani journalists, intellectuals and influencers visited Israel for a week to learn about the Holocaust and the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, according to Israeli media.
The visit sparked widespread criticism in Pakistan, which does not recognize Israel and has no diplomatic relations with the country. Islamabad has consistently advocated for the creation of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders and internationally agreed parameters.
Pakistan has also been a vocal critic of Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza, which it has labeled a “genocide.”
In a strongly worded statement, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) condemned the visit, calling it a breach of journalistic ethics and a betrayal of the global struggle for press freedom and human rights.
“The PFUJ urged authorities to launch a thorough investigation into how and why these journalists undertook the trip, emphasizing that such actions contradict Pakistan’s long-standing diplomatic stance,” the statement said.
“The PFUJ also condemned the move as an affront to journalists worldwide who have risked or lost their lives in conflict zones while exposing human rights abuses,” it added.
The union said the timing of the visit was particularly troubling, given that over 150 journalists — the majority of them Palestinian — have been killed in Gaza since October 2023, making it one of the deadliest conflicts for media workers in recent history.
It warned that such trips risk legitimizing those killings and undermining the sacrifices of journalists covering conflicts in Palestine, Kashmir, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
This is not the first time Pakistani media professionals have traveled to Israel. In 2022, a similar delegation included journalists and Pakistani-Americans participating in interfaith and diplomatic engagement efforts.
Responding to media reports on the latest visit, Pakistan’s foreign office said the country’s position on Israel “remains unchanged.”
“Pakistani passports explicitly state they are ‘not valid for travel to Israel,’” it said. “Pakistan does not recognize Israel and steadfastly supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.”
Top Pakistani journalists’ union demands probe into media delegation’s visit to Israel
https://arab.news/bp49u
Top Pakistani journalists’ union demands probe into media delegation’s visit to Israel
- PFUJ calls 10-member media delegation’s visit to Israel an affront to journalists worldwide
- It describes the visit as ‘troubling’ given the deaths of over 150 journalists covering the Gaza war
Pakistan remembers Benazir Bhutto, first woman PM in Muslim world, on death anniversary
- Bhutto was daughter of ex-PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was hanged during reign of former military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq
- Year before assassination in 2007, Bhutto signed landmark deal with rival Nawaz Sharif to prevent army interventions
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other Pakistani leaders on Saturday paid tribute to Benazir Bhutto, the first woman prime minister in the Muslim world who was assassinated 18 years ago in a gun and bomb attack after a rally in the city of Rawalpindi.
Born on Jun. 21, 1953, Bhutto was elected premier for the first time in 1988 at the age of 35. She was deposed in 1990, re-elected in 1993, and ousted again in 1996, amid allegations of corruption and mismanagement which she denied as being politically motivated.
Bhutto only entered politics after her father was hanged in 1979 during military ruler Gen. Zia-ul-Haq’s reign. Throughout her political career, she had a complex and often adversarial relationship with the now ruling Sharif family, but despite the differences signed a ‘Charter of Democracy’ in 2006 with three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif, pledging to strengthen democratic institutions and prevent military interventions in Pakistan in the future.
She was assassinated a year and a half later.
“Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto took exemplary steps to strengthen the role of women, protect the rights of minorities, and make Pakistan a peaceful, progressive, and democratic state,” PM Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, said in a statement on Saturday.
“Her sacrifices and services are a beacon of light for the nation.”
President Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto’s widower, said Bhutto believed in an inclusive Pakistan, rejected sectarianism, bigotry and intolerance, and consistently spoke for the protection of minorities.
“Her vision was of a federation where citizens of all faiths could live with dignity and equal rights,” he said. “For the youth of Pakistan, her life offers a clear lesson: speak up for justice, organize peacefully and do not surrender hope in the face of adversity.”
Powerful families like the Bhuttos and the Sharifs of Pakistan to the Gandhis of India and the Bandaranaike family of Sri Lanka have long dominated politics in this diverse region since independence from British colonial rule. But none have escaped tragedy at the hands of rebels, militants or ambitious military leaders.
It was Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Bhutto’s father, who founded the troubled Bhutto dynasty, becoming the country’s first popularly elected prime minister before being toppled by the army in 1977 and later hanged. Both his sons died in mysterious circumstances.
Before her assassination on Dec. 27, 2007, Bhutto survived another suicide attack on her motorcade that killed nearly 150 people as she returned to Pakistan after eight years in exile in October 2007.
Bhutto’s Oxford-educated son, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, now leads her Pakistan Peoples Party, founded by her father, and was foreign minister in the last administration of PM Shehbaz Sharif.
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Bhutto’s daughter who is currently the first lady of Pakistan, said her mother lived with courage and led with compassion in life.
“Her strength lives on in every voice that refuses injustice,” she said on X.
Pakistan has been ruled by military regimes for almost half its history since independence from Britain in 1947. Both former premiers Imran Khan and the elder Sharif, Nawaz, have alleged that they were ousted by the military after they fell out with the generals. The army says it does not interfere in politics.
