ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Foreign Office has denied that researcher Dr. Shama Junejo is part of the country’s delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that is currently led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after she was seen sitting behind Defense Minister Khawaja Asif during a Security Council debate this week.

Junejo, a researcher based in London, has previously drawn criticism for her social media posts in support of Israel. A video clip showing Junejo sitting behind Defense Minister Asif at the UNSC on Sept. 25 has gone viral and since caused uproar in Pakistan.

On Friday, Asif said he did not know the woman sitting behind him in the video and it was entirely the prerogative of the Foreign Office to choose analysts and researchers for the Pakistani delegation. The minister said his views on Gaza and Israel have always been clear and only the Foreign Office could answer queries about the said woman.

“To clarify, the individual in question was not listed in the official letter of credence for the Pakistan delegation to the 80th UNGA Session, signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister,” the Pakistani Foreign Office said on Saturday, responding to queries.

“As such, her seating behind the Defense Minister did not have the approval of the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister.”

Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has steadfastly supported an independent Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders. PM Sharif also resonated Islamabad’s stance in his address with the UNGA on Friday.

“My emotional attachment and commitment to Palestine spans 60 years,” Defense Minister Asif wrote on X. “My views on Gaza are clear, and I express them openly. My thoughts on Israel and Zionism are nothing but hatred. Who this woman is, why she was with us in the delegation, and why she was seated behind me — only the Foreign Office can answer.”

In a now-deleted Sept. 21 post on X, Junejo, who has been criticized by many Pakistanis for her support of Israel, claimed that she has been working as an adviser to PM Sharif since May 2025. The researcher has also been photographed in the past with PM Sharif, his elder brother and three-time former PM Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Defense Minister Asif.

In an August 2022 post on X, then Twitter, she said meeting Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu “would have been an honor” and that she would have used a photo with him as her profile picture. She has also previously praised Israeli technology, including drip irrigation, suggesting it could benefit Sindh and southern Punjab.

But the researcher said she joined others in leaving the UN General Assembly during Netanyahu’s speech on Friday. “We walked out from UNGA when the war criminal Netanyahu entered,” Junejo said on X.

Asad Qaiser, a former speaker of the lower house of Pakistan parliament, said the defense minister and the Foreign Office were “lying,” asking who allowed Junejo to reportedly travel in a Pakistani plane from London to New York, who allowed her an official Pakistani government seat behind Asif at the UNSC, and who prepared her passes that enabled her to regularly attend UN sessions.

“These questions are extremely important,” Qaiser said. “Most importantly she has been meeting Israeli diplomats and is known for her support to recognize Israel.”

“This is an extremely grave situation that the PM himself must explain,” he added.