ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani journalist has come up with absurd claims of PM Imran’s cabinet members paying visit to Tel Aviv, that is considered the capital of illegal state of Israel.
In the latest episode of his show, on which he appears as the guest, Dr Shahid Masood maintained that Prime Minister Imran Khan was incognizant of ‘these secret trips’.
“It is imperative for PM Imran Khan to investigate his 52-member team, including elected and unelected representatives, through agencies,” which according to the PM, he continued, “keep him informed on ‘everything’.”
Before he could add something to his theory, the host of Live with Dr Shahid Masood ended the show for next episode.
Masood’s claims surfaced amid reports of some international powers are forcing Pakistan to recognise Israel amid the handshakes between several Arab nations and the Jewish state for ‘peace’ in the region.
While the 53-year-old claimed in a previous episode of his show that no Islamic country had put pressure on Pakistan to recognise Israel, another renowned TV personality Mubashir Lucman jumped on the normalisation bandwagon in his interview to an Israeli TV channel – suggesting the South Asian nation should shake hands with the Jewish state.
Pakistan should shake hands with Israel, Mubashir Lucman tells Jewish TV channel
Pakistan, on the other hand, has already made it clear that it will not recognise Israel unless the Palestine conflict is resolved in line with the wishes of Palestinians.
Last week, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri had clarified that recognition of Israel was not under consideration.
Chaudhri, at a weekly news briefing last Thursday, reiterated that Pakistan’s principled position on Israel issue was still unchanged.
With the pre-1967 borders & Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of a viable, independent & contiguous #Palestinian State. 2/2 #PalestineDay
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Pakistan (@ForeignOfficePk) November 29, 2020
Masood, who also served as former head of the state broadcaster, has a reputation of making startling revelations about the trending issues – most of which have backfired in the past.
In March 2018, he had claimed during a late-night show that the alleged murderer of Zainab Amin – a seven-year-old girl who was brutally raped before being murdered in Kasur city of Punjab –was a member of a pornography gang, which also includes a sitting minister from Punjab.
During another hearing of the case, Masood had also told the court that the suspect had 37 foreign accounts.
A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed to probe his claims, declared that Masood’s report about Zainab murder case was false and baseless, for which he was banned for three months from hosting his TV show by the Supreme Court. He resumed hosting the show on 21 June 2018 on News One.
In November 2018, he was arrested by FIA in the PTV corruption case and was released on bail after nearly two months.
