Nawaz asked us not to speak against India, claims ex-diplomat Tasneem Aslam

ISLAMABAD: Former Foreign Office spokesperson Tasneem Aslam claimed that ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif asked the diplomats to not speak against India or on the subject of Indian spy in Pakistani custody, Kulbhushan Jadhav, during the PML-N tenure.

While speaking to a journalist, Aslam said that the Sharif family was in favour of India.

Former spokesperson for the Foreign Office alleged that Nawaz had close ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She said that when Nawaz Sharif attended the oath-taking ceremony of Modi, he did not meet Hurriyat leaders, adding that his pro-India policies did not benefit Pakistan.

After the interview started gaining attention on social media, Human Right Minister Shireen Mazari said that the former diplomat was only ‘confirming’ what they always knew.

“Tasnim is merely confirming what we always knew and spoke about. But courageous of a retd MOFA bureaucrat to come out with this -question is at that time did MOFA go along?” tweeted the minister.

Khawaja Asif reacts

Reacting to ex-official of the Foreign Office, PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif said that he, in his capacity as both defence and foreign minister during the PML-N tenure, adopted austere behavior towards India.

Asif lashed out that Pakistanis barely ever heard the name of Jadhav from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The ex-foreign minister said that Nawaz has no business ties with India and it is just political propaganda.

'Pack of lies’

Former diplomat Kamran Shafeeh said that Aslam’s interview is comical, calling it a ‘pack of lies’.

The ex-envoy said that Aslam’s interview reflects the 'influence' on the foreign office.

Tasneem Aslam worked as a FO spokesperson during the tenure of military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf and later in PML-N government.