Dr. Naji Zaheer, Special Representative To Hamas Leader Khaled Mash'al, Shares Stage In Pakistan With U.S. Treasury Specially Designated Global Terrorists Saifullah Khalid And Faisal Nadeem

On January 16, 2024, Hamas leader Khaled Mash'al's special representative to Pakistan Dr. Naji Zaheer, who has been in Pakistan in recent months appearing publicly alongside U.S.-designated global terrorists, visited the Karachi Press Club where he spoke with Pakistani journalists and called for more anti-Israel protests, according to Pakistani media reports.[1] The Dawn newspaper quoted Dr. Naji Zaheer as saying that "Israel has crossed all limits of barbarism in Palestine" and noted that he praised Pakistani journalists, whether they be "from the print or the electronic media, because they were responsible for educating people about the facts."[2]

According to a report in the Urdu daily Roznama Nawa-i-Waqt, Zaheer also met in early December 2023 with a delegation of leaders of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), which is the political front of Pakistani jihadi organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which in recent years has been operating underground and whose leader Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is in prison.[3] Zaheer told the delegation: "We are extremely thankful to Pakistan Markazi Muslim League because through it, the men, women, and youths of Pakistan are fully expressing solidarity with the inhabitants of Gaza against the criminal Zionist war."[4]

Karachi Press Club (KPC) President Abdul Rasheed Memon (left), Dr. Naji Zaheer (middle), and KPC Secretary Shoaib Ahmed (right). (Dawn.com)

Another Urdu daily Roznama Jang noted in a report in mid-November 2023 that Zaheer had attended an anti-Israel rally in Karachi, where he shared the stage with the leaders of Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, sitting alongside Saifullah Khalid and Faisal Nadeem, both of whom are sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224.[5] The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League was previously known as the Milli Muslim League (MML), another political front put forth by Lashkar-e-Taiba, which was founded by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and is also known by its charity name Jamaatud Dawa.

In November 2023, Dr. Naji Zaheer attended an anti-Israel protest in Karachi where he shared the stage with Saifullah Khalid and Faisal Nadeem.

Following are excerpts from Dr. Naji Zaheer's conversation at the Karachi Press Club (KPC):[6]

"Israel Has Crossed All Limits Of Barbarism In Palestine"

"I particularly respect Pakistani journalists because in the current situation in Gaza, they have been reporting with such passion that they seem no different than their Palestinian counterparts working for our cause..."

"Unfortunately, we have lost too many of our own newsmen in the line of duty in Gaza. Similarly, we have also lost many of our doctors. Israel has crossed all limits of barbarism in Palestine and the latest is what you have been seeing in the form of the atrocities of the last 100 days or so..."

"As of now, some 160,000 innocent civilians have been martyred of whom 12,000 were children. Dozens of people belonging to the same family have been killed. Our hospitals have been targeted so that we are not even able to help our injured."

"Now Israel Is Eyeing The Al-Aqsa Mosque – The Palestinians Are Trying To Save Al-Aqsa"

"The Gaza Strip is in complete ruins. Israel is using white phosphorus in Gaza. The substance is banned internationally, but it is being used against us because Israelis think that they are above the law. They are completely unwilling to hear our just demands...

"We tell them that we stood up for our rights being denied to us. We also need our freedom. There are thousands of Palestinians who are being kept prisoner in Israel for over 45 years now...

"Now Israel is eyeing the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Palestinians are trying to save Al-Aqsa. They have been protecting it with their lives. When one Palestinian is martyred while protecting the mosque, more take his place to do the same...

"Another [form of] damage caused by this war is damage to Israel's economy...

"You can do more by also writing letters to the United Nations..."