Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said the United States should “kidnap” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if it believes in humanity, calling the Israeli leader the “worst criminal of humanity.”
Asif made the remarks during a televised interview on Thursday.
Asif claimed that no atrocities in history match those committed against Palestinians in Gaza and said Netanyahu was the biggest criminal the world has ever seen. “No community has done what Israel has done to Palestinians in the last 4,000 to 5,000 years,” he said.
The defence minister added that Turkey could also kidnap Netanyahu and said that “Pakistanis are praying for it.” He compared the idea to the way Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was taken away.
During the interview, Asif began raising the issue of penalising those who support Netanyahu, saying, “And what does the law say about those who support such criminals.” At that point, anchor Hamid Mir interrupted to call a break and cautioned that the remarks could be seen as a veiled reference to Donald Trump. Mir also said that Asif would not remain on air after the break.
Pakistan has never recognised Israel and officially describes its ties with Iran as based on fraternity and shared regional interests.
In a separate interview with NDTV, Israel’s ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, said Israel is not comfortable with the Pakistan Army participating in any Gaza force. He expressed concern over links between Hamas and Pakistan-based terror groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, and rejected any Pakistani military role in a proposed International Stabilisation Force for Gaza.