By Sidra Sadaf
Dr. Shama Junejo is a British-Pakistani journalist. She has often been linked with the Pakistan Israel relations debate. In the past, she openly said that Pakistan should recognize Israel. Because of this opinion, she was tagged as someone who supports ties with Israel.
The matter became serious when Dr. Shama Junejo was seen sitting right behind Khawaja Asif during his speech at the United Nations. Many people objected to her presence. Khawaja Asif denied knowing her and shifted the matter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry later clarified that her name was not included in the official list of delegates. Critics, however, argue that both Khawaja Asif and the Ministry already knew who she was.
In Pakistan, the Palestine issue has sadly become a political card. It has been used in the past to label people as “Jewish agents”. Whenever one party is attacked with this label, they use the same tactic against others when they get a chance. The Pakistan Israel relations debate is now more about political scoring than real foreign policy.
A past opinion should not mean that a person is blacklisted forever. When the debate started years ago, even many Facebook users supported better ties with Israel. But views change with time. Today, Dr. Shama Junejo is very active on Twitter. She often writes against the Indian lobby and against Israel.
She is, however, known for being anti-PTI. Some believe that her past opinion on Israel is now being used as an excuse to attack her. What is clear is that in Pakistani politics, the Palestine issue is still a tool. PML-N, under social media pressure, seems unable to handle criticism despite having strong backing from the establishment.
1 Comment
Solid suggestions — would be great to see a downloadable checklist.