Pakistani Twitter not pleased with 'anti-Semitic' label for FM Qureshi after CNN interview

Twitter users in Pakistan showed support and praised Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi after he came under fire on social media for his comment that the Israeli media exercises strong influence over western media. 

He was being labelled 'anti-Semitic', but Pakistani Twitter wasn't having it, with #CNNExposed and #ShahMahmoodQureshi trending on Twitter.

In an interview with CNN, FM Qureshi had stated that the "tide was turning" against Israel as it was losing the media war despite its connections.

Read more: Tide turning against Israel, says FM Qureshi in CNN interview

He lashed out at Israel for its state-sanctioned massacre in Gaza, where nearly 250 Palestinian men, women and children have been killed in less than two weeks.

"I am convinced, the tide is turning. I am convinced the public pressure, the pressure of public opinion mounting and the ceasefire is inevitable. Israel is losing out. They are losing the media war despite their connections," he said before a truce was announced by Israel.

On this, the CNN anchor attempted to paint Qureshi’s comments as “anti-Semitic”.

When asked to explain what he meant, the foreign minister said Israel had a lot of influence on the global media, adding that its narrative received a lot of coverage.

Qureshi said the video clips shared by citizen journalists showing Israeli violence had jolted the world prompting the people in London, Madrid, Michigan, Sydney, Chicago and capitals of European nations to demand an immediate end to that “insanity”.

Responding to the CNN anchor's tweet, Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari defended FM Qureshi and said the anchor's "comment itself proves Qureshi's point".

She called the anchor out for having "shameful bias" and making a false allegation against Qureshi.

Journalist Zarar Khuhro, too, came to FM Qureshi's defense, asking where the FM was wrong.

Khuhro said condemning ISIS is not Islamophobia, just like condemning Israel is not anti-semitism.

Academic Nida Kirmani believes, however, that having a discussion over whether FM Qureshi's remarks about Israeli state's major influence over most of the US and Western Europe media were anti-semitic or not shifts focus away from discussing Israeli war crimes.

Kirmani did not think the foreign minister's remarks were anti-Semitic. She did, however, emphasise that "words must be chosen carefully", especially by government representatives.

Other activists, journalists and Twitter users from Pakistan defended the FM as well, tweeting out various statements explaining why his comments were not anti-Semitic and how the CNN anchor had got it all wrong.