A US-based non-government organization has urged Pakistan Television (PTV) to hire back its fired journalist Ahmed Quraishi.
The government of Pakistan had fired Ahmed Quraishi after pictures of him visiting Israel with the Interfaith group had surfaced online.
“Quraishi reiterated in a message sent to the AP that his visit was one “by private individuals, with no direct links to Pakistan and its policies, and covered by me as an independent journalist that works in Pakistan and the region.” 2/3
— Mukhayriq Initiative (@Mukhayriq_I) June 3, 2022
Mukhayriq Initiative, having members from both Jews and Muslims living in the United States and around the world, has appealed to PTV to hire back Ahmed Quraishi.
Quraishi visited Jerusalem last month with the delegation. He was taken off the air and fired. The Pakistani journalist Ahmed Quraishi met Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Quraishi was part of the 15-member delegation comprising mostly Pakistani expatriates settled in the USA.
“The @Mukhayriq_I stands with our board member @_AhmedQuraishi who has become the target of a political agenda for doing nothing more than his job as a journalist,” said the organization in its statement.
“For any political party to politicize this for temporary political benefit is unfortunate,” he added.
Cohanim said the Mukhayriq Initiative is a new NGO that “seeks to build on the shared history & shared values that bring Muslims and Jews together.” 3/3— Mukhayriq Initiative (@Mukhayriq_I) June 3, 2022
Quraishi reiterated in a message sent to the AP that his visit was one “by private individuals, with no direct links to Pakistan and its policies, and covered by me as an independent journalist that works in Pakistan and the region,” added the organization in its statement.
Read more: Shireen Mazari calls Ahmad Qureshi ‘pro-Israel’ in a Twitter row
Ahmed Quraishi in his statement to AP on Friday said that his visit one “by private individuals, with no direct links to Pakistan and its policies, and covered by me as an independent journalist that works in Pakistan and the region.”
“For any political party to politicize this for temporary political benefit is unfortunate,” he added
The Mukhayriq managing director Ellie Cohanim said that Quraishi became “the target of a political agenda for doing nothing more than his job as a journalist.”
She told the AP that after criticism from Khan, “Quraishi began to receive threats to his life” — even though he was only doing the “job of any good journalist, (which is) to seek information on the ground, and to understand issues first-hand.”Ahmed Quraishi had a verbal spat with PTI leader Shireen Mazari when she called him out for visiting Israel.