Asad Qaiser’s NA speech 'censored' over criticism of Netanyahu

The live broadcast of Pakistan’s National Assembly was reportedly interrupted when PTI leader and former Speaker Asad Qaiser began criticising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to circulating video clips, the transmission on state-run PTV was cut as Qaiser condemned Netanyahu over what he described as genocide in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reiterated that Pakistan, along with other Muslim countries, was taken by surprise when US President Donald Trump announced the so-called peace plan for Gaza.

He noted that the proposal presented by Trump was never approved by the eight Muslim countries that had been part of the negotiations on Gaza.

Dar explained that while the plan was welcomed only as a starting point toward ending the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Muslim countries had decided they would later put forward their own terms and conditions as the process advanced.

Speaking in the National Assembly, the foreign minister said that the government had involved an influential European country, which is currently engaging with Israel to press for the immediate release of ex-senator Mushtaq Ahmed.

Dar confirmed that Mushtaq Ahmed Khan had been abducted by Israeli forces along with other activists when the first batch of the Global Sumud Flotilla approached the Gaza coast.

He clarified, however, that so far the government can only confirm the abduction of Mushtaq Ahmed, while other Pakistani activists aboard the flotilla are not believed to have been taken into custody by the occupation forces.

He further stated that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had condemned the genocide in Gaza by explicitly naming and criticising Israel, adding that the opposition should listen to the prime minister’s speech once again.