Hours after Pakistan science and technology minister Fawad Chaudhry admitted to Pakistan’s role in the 2019 Pulwama attack, certain Indian media outlets shockingly provided him with a platform to “issue a clarification”.
India Today network and NDTV provided him space to defend Pakistan’s role in the attack that resulted in the death of 40 Indian soldiers.
Chaudhury on Thursday said in the National Assembly: “We hit India in their home. Our success in Pulwama, is a success of the people under the leadership of Imran Khan. You and we are all part of that success.”
While NDTV tweeted a statement by him, India Today went a step ahead to telecast an interview with the minister.
NDTV, which has a long propagated pro-Pakistan views, tweeted a statement by Chaudhry: “Pak minister who bragged about Pulwama tells NDTV, ‘Pakistan doesn’t allow any terrorism, I was misinterpreted’.”
He said: “My statement is very clear. It was about Operation Swift Resort that we undertook after India dared to enter into Pakistan territory on Balakot. I was talking about the post-Pulwama operation that Pakistan undertook.”
India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai in his show invited “Fawad saheb” and gave him a platform to make a complete U-turn on his earlier statements. The journalist did not even grill the minister on his statements.
Chaudhry’s Pulwama statement came after opposition leader Ayaz Sadiq’s recent disclosure about a meeting where army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s “legs were shaking” while foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi pleaded for the release of IAF pilot Abhinandan Varthaman over fears that India would attack the country.
Varthaman’s fighter jet was downed while pursuing a Pakistani fighter jet during a dogfight between Indian and Pakistani pilots. After being held captive for nearly 60 hours, he was released to India from the Attari-Wagah border.
