Pakistan's Defence Minister Forced to Delete Anti-Israel Remarks Amid Diplomatic Controversy

Controversial remarks against Israel ahead of the'Islamabad talks'in Pakistan have hit Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif hard. After a strong rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was forced to delete an anti-Israeli post from his X handle. The incident is being seen as a diplomatic surrender by Pakistan. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called Israel a "curse on humanity" in one of his posts. Israel took a very aggressive stance on this statement. Benjamin Netanyahu's office called the comments "insulting," saying that such language cannot be tolerated, especially from a country that is presenting itself as a "neutral mediator" in the ongoing diplomatic efforts. The controversy comes at a time when Pakistan is hosting peace talks between the US and Iran. Deleting the image of the Israeli defence minister after the rebuke shows that Pakistan does not consider itself to be in a position to suffer a global backlash at this time.