Pak journo Jahanzaib Ali and EAM heated exchange on ‘terrorist country’ had White House run-in
By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – The Pakistani journalist Jahanzaib Ali and the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s had a viral “terrorist country” exchange at the press conference held at the UN is no stranger to confrontations at high-profile press events.
US State Department records showed that Pakistani reporter Jahanzaib Ali appeared at Washington briefings for years, while an earlier profile identifies him as an ARY News correspondent who had joined major Washington press organisations.
Jahanzaib Ali who questioned Jaishankar over alleged Indian sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan on Friday press conference had been involved in a dispute with fellow journalists over standing space ahead of a news conference by US President Donald Trump at the White House.
The latest exchange unfolded at the UN headquarters in New York after Jaishankar and Liberian Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti addressed reporters on the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers.
Ali asked Jaishankar: “When will your government stop sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan?”
“A terrorist country is asking me that question. Come on,” Jaishankar shot back.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathaneni Harish, then intervened: “You have heard your reply. You have heard your response, loud and clear.”
Ali was involved in an argument over standing space inside the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room before a Trump news conference, according to media reports.
Journalists had been waiting for places in the crowded briefing room when Ali allegedly moved ahead of reporters already standing near the front shortly before the event was due to begin.
Several correspondents objected and asked him to move back, according to the account. Ali refused, triggered an argument involved other reporters.
The confrontation drew the attention of veteran White House correspondent April Ryan, who also told the reporter to move.
The Daily Beast reported a confrontation in the packed briefing room in which a male reporter attempted to move towards the front shortly before Trump arrived.
Its report quoted Ryan telling the journalist: “Go to the back!” It also said White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang attempted to restore order.
Ali has been part of the Washington press circuit for years. US State Department records identify him as a journalist with Pakistan’s ARY News at briefings dating back to at least 2016.
In a profile published by the Foreign Press Association, Ali described himself as a Washington correspondent for ARY News and said he had joined the White House Correspondents’ Association and National Press Club years earlier.
His questions at US government briefings have touched on India, Pakistan and Kashmir, among other foreign-policy issues.
His Friday’s confrontation with EAM Jaishankar came after India and Liberia announced the Group of Friends on Safety and Security of Shipping and Seafarers on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly.
The initiative focused on risks facing commercial vessels and their crews.
Ali question shifted the interaction from maritime security to India-Pakistan tensions.
Jaishankar is in New York for the UN General Assembly’s high-level week.
