Islamabad refutes Israeli media’s ‘baseless’ reports targeting Pakistan

DNA

Islamabad on Friday rebutted the Israeli media reports alleging any commitment by Pakistan to send arms to support Iran as “baseless”.

At her weekly press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch responding to a query, rejected a Jerusalem Post’s report from August 6 which alleged that “if the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates, Pakistan plans to supply Iran with Shaheen-III medium-range ballistic missiles.”

“Such reports are patently false. Before paying any attention to such reports, it is important to reflect on the source behind such baseless reports and the malicious agenda behind them,” she added.

According to the top spokesperson, this is a “critical time in the Middle East. We, therefore, urge all parties, including the media, not to indulge in the peddling of fake news”.

During the briefing, Baloch assured that Pakistan would support all efforts to prevent war from escalating in the Middle East as fears grow of a wider conflict involving Israel and Iran.

“Pakistan will support all efforts to prevent a war in the Middle East,” she said. However, she did not comment on whether the country had been in contact with Washington over the issue.

Notably, Pakistan does not have diplomatic ties with Israel. It has seen a stark improvement in previously rocky ties with neighbouring Iran that culminated in tit-for-tat military fire between the two nations in January.

Iran’s president visited in April and the nations have said they are boosting trade ties and regional cooperation.

Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had spoken on the phone with Iran’s foreign minister in recent days, Baloch said

Dar had attended an emergency meeting convened by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Saudi Arabia this week where he condemned Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire and better access to humanitarian aid.

“He also called for preventing further escalation of violence and tensions,” she added.