Pakistan, Israel war of words: Khwaja Asif’s ‘hell burns’ comments spark ‘outrageous’ reaction

Israel harshly criticized Israel’s comments on Thursday Khawaja Asifquestion PakistanCredibility as a neutral actor in ongoing regional diplomacy. Asif responded after posting a series of comments targeting Israel on social media. In response to these remarks, the Prime Minister’s Office of Pakistan said: “It is outrageous that Pakistan’s defense minister has called for the annihilation of Israel.“ It added: “This is not a statement that any government can tolerate, especially one that claims to be a neutral arbiter of peace.”The dispute comes at a sensitive time, with Pakistan believed to have brokered a two-week temporary ceasefire between the United States and Iran and preparing to host new peace talks over the weekend. This emerged when Asif described Israel as “evil” and a “curse of humanity” in his speech and called for “getting rid of European Jewry”. He also linked ongoing diplomatic efforts to developments on the ground, saying “peace talks are ongoing in Islamabad and genocide is occurring in Lebanon.” “Israel is killing innocent citizens, first in Gaza, then in Iran, and now in Lebanon, and the bloodshed continues unabated,” Asif said. “I hope and pray that those who created this cancer state in the land of Palestine will exterminate European Jewry [sic] Burn in hell,” he added. Separately, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also condemned the remarks, saying, “These blatantly anti-Semitic blood libel comes from a government that claims to mediate peace.” “Israel will defend itself against terrorists who vow to destroy Israel,” Sa’ar said.