scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeGo To PakistanThis 'leaked letter by Shah Mahmood Qureshi' has made Pakistan a butt...

This ‘leaked letter by Shah Mahmood Qureshi’ has made Pakistan a butt of jokes online

The letter raises concerns about the inability of the Pakistan embassy in US to facilitate a diplomatic communication between Joe Biden and Imran Khan.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

New Delhi: A mysterious, allegedly leaked letter by Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and a quick denial and counter-attack by the embassy in the US has got many Pakistanis perplexed. Fake, the Foreign Office declared.

The letter dated 27 September, which surfaced on social media, was addressed to the country’s ambassador to the United States Assad Majeed Khan, has some Pakistanis questioning why the country is “begging”. The purported letter hints of fraying ties between Pakistan and the US, with the former trying hard to save that relationship.

— Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) October 7, 2021

In the letter, concerns have been raised about the “inability of the Pakistan embassy, Washington in creating an environment to facilitate a diplomatic communication between the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and the President of the United States of America.”

The Foreign Office has denied the authenticity of the correspondence. “The letter (allegedly written by Pakistan’s foreign minister to the ambassador in Washington) in circulation is completely fake and baseless,” an official press release by the Foreign Office notes.

On social media, while many Pakistanis heaved a sigh of relief after the Foreign Office statement, others questioned how one can even believe such a communication to be true.

With the return of the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, the future of many citizens of the country is under question, as women worry about their freedom. But Pakistan had other concerns of being left out.

The alleged letter speaks of the White House’s “indifference” towards Pakistan in matters relating to the current Afghanistan crisis. “The Prime Minister’s office has taken a strong view to the fact that despite all efforts by Pakistan to establish a healthy line of communication with the White House, it is unable to see a meaningful reciprocity,” the letter reads.

Ending the communication by directing the ambassador to take “adequate measures” “to ensure Pakistan’s relevance” in “all diplomatic forums”, the letter boldly accuses the White House staff advising the US President of having “immature understanding” for portraying Pakistan’s “diplomatic overtures” in “poor light”.

While the authenticity of the letter has been denied, the nature of the text has been ridiculed by a few.

“Desperate begging by youthia government and calling those it is begging as having ‘immature understanding’,” Pakistani journalist Gul Bukhari said.

Another Twitter user, Munir Khan, raised concerns about the country’s strategic communication. “Strange that the burden of failed foreign policy is being shifted to the Ambassador. If that is the understanding of this government then I am not surprised that it’s strategic communication is going nowhere,” he said.

 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular