Newspaper’s Blunder Gave Pakistan’s Enemies a Chance

Pakistani publication, The News, misquoted Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s statement regarding ISIS threat in Afghanistan during a media talk which helped to create anti-Pakistan narrative.

During a press conference, the foreign minister highlighted Pakistan was consulting the Afghan neighboring countries for permanent peace in the war-torn country.

“Nobody wants ISIS to grow. They [the Afghan government] don’t want it, the Taliban don’t want it, Iran doesn’t want it, [Afghanistan’s] neighbors don’t want it and the international community doesn’t want it,” he said.

According to a Russian report, ISIS fighters from Iraq, Syria, and Libya are allegedly turning to Afghanistan for terrorism.

Therefore, Qureshi emphasized that it was the responsibility of Afghan government to prevent terrorists from entering the country.

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However, Pakistani newspaper The News twisted and misrepresented the minister’s statement and sparked a controversy.

Instead of linking Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s statement to the Afghan government, the newspaper linked it to the Afghan Taliban.

Scoring the chance, Afghanistan’s Tolo News Agency started bashing Pakistan and tried to create the impression that Pakistan was supporting the Taliban.

Pakistani media misquoted @SMQureshiPTI and these reports are now being prominently carried by #Afghan media. Here is what Pakistan’s foreign minister actually said (Video courtesy Qudrat daily) https://t.co/MNXN2Yt7uB pic.twitter.com/qWJOCI5zmO

— Naimat Khan (@NKMalazai) August 1, 2021

On the other hand, Pakistan’s foreign ministry categorically denied Afghan publication’s claims.

In a statement, Foreign Office (FO) reiterated that Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s statement was in favor of Afghanistan as Pakistan is taking every possible measure to uplift peace in the war-torn country.