Pakistan's foreign minister lost his cool when he was asked to mention the names of the 58 countries that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan commended for backing Islamabad’s stance at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) follwoing his call for asking India to stop alleged atrocities in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The minister, during the Express News talk show on Kashmir, was asked the question because as a foreign minister he had reportedly endorsed it.
For some reason, host Javed Chaudhry’s question flustered Qureshi, causing him to momentarily lose control.
Qureshi snapped back at Chaudhry, asking: “On whose agenda are you working? Are you going to tell me or decide which countries have or have not supported Pakistan at the UN?... You may write whatever you want!”
On being again pressed for endorsing the prime minister’s comment on his own twitter handle, Qureshi took umbrage and instead started asking the anchor: “No! No! Show me the tweet I have written, not what Prime Minister Khan has written. You have said my tweet… show that to me. I want my tweet.”
However, on being shown the tweet, Qureshi found nothing wrong in it. He said: “I stand by what I have said. What is so surprising in this....whose agenda are you following?”
The exchange amused the twitterati people the talk show incident soon went viral.
Netizens took to social media to troll Pakistan’s Foreign Minister for his sudden outburst. While some described the minister’s reaction as pure entertainment, others questioned the need for having such people representing the government and the public.
More few minutes and he would have exploded 😂
— aaloo kachaloo (@bolkahangayethe) October 2, 2019
Absolute entertainment. I have actually become addicted to watching Pak TV channels on YouTube... They're so much fun!
— Shivneet Singh (@Shivneet) October 2, 2019
Why did the #Pakistani ppl elect this govt? To work for them, or to work on building a Muslim co-alition against anything that #India does? This elected govt has failed on both counts. Time the #Pakistani ppl come together to demand accountability of its elected representatives.
— J P Joshi (@JPJoshi1) October 2, 2019
Perfect Big Boss material.
— Manisha Sarkar (@Nidhipa) October 2, 2019
I thank all pak politicians for entertaining us since 5th august. Love you all
— Pankaj Patil (@pank_s_patil) October 2, 2019
The trolling of Pakistan’s foreign minister comes almost a month after the Pakistani prime minister claimed the support of 58 countries, without naming them, at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 10 September.
I commend the 58 countries that joined Pakistan in Human Rights Council on 10 Sept reinforcing demands of int community for India to stop use of force, lift siege, remove other restrictions, respect & protect Kashmiris' rights & resolve Kashmir dispute through UNSC resolutions.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) September 12, 2019
Tensions between the two nuclear-armed nations have escalated after India carried out an airstrike on alleged terror infrastructure operated by Jaish-e-Mohammad inside Pakistan on 26 February. The attack came days after a JeM suicide bomber killed 40 security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on 14 February.
On 27 February, Pakistan retaliated to India’s pre-dawn strike and reportedly shot down an Indian fighter jet in a dogfight while an F-16 operated by the Pakistan Air Force was also shot down, according to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The tension resurfaced in the first week of the August after Indian Parliament scrapped Jammu and Kashmir's seven decades old quasi-autonomous special status.
Islamabad has since launched a diplomatic and economic offensive against New Delhi.
