Pakistani minister misquoted in posts about Gaza peace plan
- Published on October 29, 2025 at 10:17
- 3 min read
- By Rimal FARRUKH, AFP Pakistan
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After several European and Muslim countries backed a plan by US President Donald Trump to end the war in Gaza, social media users in Pakistan circulated a clip of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar with the false claim that he had called for recognising Israel. However, Dar made no such statements -- and Pakistan had not recognised Israel nor established diplomatic ties with it as of late October.
"For the sake of Allah's pleasure, we are going to recognise Israel - Ishaq Dar," reads an Urdu-language X post published October 1, which accumulated more than 500 shares.
The post includes a clip of Dar speaking at a press conference.
Similar posts spread on X and Instagram.
The claim started circulating after eight Arab or Muslim-majority nations in a joint statement said they "welcome the role of the American president and his sincere efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza" (archived link).
Indonesia and Pakistan, the world's two most populous Muslim-majority countries, also signed the statement in late September (archived link).
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect October 10, ending the war triggered by Hamas's attack two years earlier on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 Israelis -- mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures (archived link).
Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza killed at least 68,531 people, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.
Trump said "nothing" would jeopardise the ceasefire in Gaza after Israel carried out air strikes on the Palestinian territory in late October and accused Hamas of violating the truce, which the militant group denied (archived link).
Comments under the social media posts indicate supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, founder of the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, appeared to believe the claim.
"They will declare alcohol halal tomorrow 'for the pleasure of Allah,'" one user wrote.
Misinformation in Pakistan often targets politicians, with supporters of the government and opposition frequently sharing misleading or false posts about their opponents (archived link).
The video circulating online is the latest example -- it does not show Dar calling for the recognition of Israel. Other fact-checking organisations have previously debunked similar claims.
Defending Gaza peace plan
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the clip led to a Geo News Instagram reel of the foreign minister speaking at a press conference on September 30. In the video, he discusses the Gaza peace plan proposed by Trump (archived link).
A subsequent keyword search surfaced the full press conference that Dawn News posted on YouTube the same day (archived link).
The circulating clip corresponds to the 28:34 mark of the video, when Dar defends the government and critiques local politicians for opposing the Gaza peace plan.
"I believe that we did our best to do whatever the eight countries could do, their leadership and the foreign ministers," Dar said during the press conference.
"Our prime intention was to make all our efforts for the sake of Allah's pleasure."
Nowhere in the more than 40-minute press conference does Dar advocate for Pakistan's recognition of Israel.
Pakistan has never formally established diplomatic ties with Israel. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reaffirmed the country's position in an October 28 X post refuting Indian media reports of Pakistan sending troops to Gaza (archived link).
"Pakistan does not recognize Israel, has no diplomatic or military engagement with it, and maintains a clear, principled stance in support of Palestinian self-determination," the ministry said.
AFP has fact-checked other false and misleading claims about Pakistan and the Israel-Hamas war here, here and here.
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