Pak Minister loses cool when asked to name 58 countries backing them on Kashmir issue

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi (AFP)

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently lost his temper while attending a talk show on a Pakistani TV Channel. The anchor of the ‘Express News’ TV show ‘Kal Tak with Javed Chaudhry’ had asked him to name the “58 countries”, that, according to Prime Minister Imran Khan, have backed them on the Kashmir issue.

He was asked this question by Chaudhry after repeatedly endorsing how Khan had commended those 58 nations for supporting Islamabad’s stance on the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

However, the question evidently irked the minister and he lashed out at the journalist on public television. Charging Chaudhry, Qureshi said: “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!”

When the host pointed out that he himself had endorsed Khan’s comment in a social media post from his Twitter handle, he said: “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.”

He continued to dodge the question even after he was shown the tweet and said that he found nothing wrong with it. He went on to question the anchor’s allegiance and quipped: “I stand by what I have said. What is so surprising in this.... whose agenda are you following?”