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ISLAMABAD: Former special assistant to the prime minister on overseas Pakistanis, Zulfi Bukhari has again denied reports that he covertly travelled to Israel last November to meet Mossad spy agency chief.
This is the second time that Bukhari has denied reports about travelling to Israel. In December last year, he claimed that he had been with the Rawalpindi deputy commissioner at the time of the alleged November visit.
The issue resurfaced again today after a Hebrew newspaper, Israel Hayom, published a news report regarding the alleged visit, quoting an unnamed source in Islamabad.
In a tweet, Avi Scarf of Israel’s Haaretz newspaper said Bukhari travelled to Israel to meet Mossad spy agency chief Yossi Cohen. He stated that the news report had been attributed to a “source in Islamabad”, adding that it was published after permission from the Israeli military censor.
Adelson’s paper Israel Hayom is reporting that the Israeli military censor has just allowed to publish that Pakistan PM @ImranKhanPTI ‘s advisor Zulfi Bukhari traveled to Israel last Nov to meet Mossad chief Cohen – this according to a source in Islamabadhttps://t.co/vNwf9x8MEy
— avi scharf (@avischarf) June 28, 2021
Refuting the claims, Bukhari said, “Funny bit is Pakistani paper says I went to Israel based on ‘Israeli news source’ and Israeli paper says I went to Israel based on a ‘Pakistani source’. Wonder who this imaginative Pakistani source is.”
DIDNOT go to Israel.
Funny bit is Pakistani paper says I went to Israel based on “Israeli news source” & Israeli paper says I went to Israel based on a “Pakistani source”-wonder who this imaginative Pakistani source is🤔Apparently, I’m the only one who was kept out of the loop. https://t.co/bcRO3osWMk
— Sayed Z Bukhari (@sayedzbukhari) June 28, 2021
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Digital Media Arslan Khalid also dispelled the claims saying, “Bukhari had clarified last year that he was never sent by the government to Israel. This Israel-India-Pak fake news peddlers network is getting so boring and predictable.”
A propaganda fake news shared by an Israeli acc & propagated by the usual lot again.@sayedzbukhari had already clarified it last yr tht he was never sent by Govt to israel.This Israel-India-Pak Fake news peddlars network is getting so boring & predictablehttps://t.co/3EZFzT2y2i pic.twitter.com/BLoKBgY8y3
— Dr Arslan Khalid (@arslankhalid_m) June 28, 2021
He further urged the media to show a little maturity and not promote fake news. “The last time when the same propaganda was run, not only did Bukhari deny and sent a legal notice but the Middle East Monitor, who reported it, also had to apologise,” he added.
The rumours first spread after a news report claiming an adviser of prime minister had met Israeli officials at the Tel Aviv airport in November 2020 after getting approval for the visit from the US.
The report had claimed that an unnamed adviser with a British passport was taken to the “foreign ministry of Israel where he met several political officials and diplomats and delivered the message of the Pakistani premier”.
