Pakistan urged to hire back reporter fired for Israel visit

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.S.-based non-government organization devoted to promoting Muslim-Jewish relations is urging Pakistan’s state-run television to hire back one of its anchors, fired over visiting Israel. The plea from the Mukhayriq Initiative, which has both Muslim and Jewish members, comes days after journalist Ahmed Quraishi was taken off the air. He was part of a 15-member delegation of mostly Pakistani expatriates living in the United States that travelled to Israel. The visit came under severe criticism in Pakistan, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ellie Cohanim, who heads the NGO, said Friday that Quraishi became “the target of a political agenda for doing nothing more than his job as a journalist.”