Pakistan's Khawaja Asif asks US, Turkey to ‘kidnap’ Netanyahu, calls him ‘worst criminal of humanity’: Watch video

Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif has publicly urged the United States and Turkey to “kidnap” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, framing the appeal as a test of “justice and humanity” amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

Speaking in a televised interview, clips of which have since gone viral on social media, Asif said Washington should apprehend Netanyahu “just as Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was taken away.” He went on to suggest that Turkey could also seize the Israeli leader, adding that “Pakistanis are praying for it.”

Escalating his rhetoric, Asif described Netanyahu as the “worst criminal of humanity,” and claimed that “no atrocities in history match those committed against Palestinians in Gaza.”



He said, “No community has done what Israel has done to Palestinians in the last 4,000-5,000 years. He [Netanyahu] is the biggest criminal of humanity. The world has not seen a bigger criminal.”

During the interview, Asif also appeared to broaden his remarks to include those he accused of enabling such actions, beginning a sentence with, “And what does the law say about those who support such criminals…”. At that point, the programme’s anchor, Hamid Mir, interrupted and called for a break.

Mir warned on air that Asif’s comments could be interpreted as a veiled reference to US President Donald Trump and indicated that the defence minister would not continue on the programme after the break.

Pakistan does not recognise Israel and has long voiced strong support for the Palestinian cause. Islamabad also maintains close ties with Iran, a vocal regional critic of Israeli policies.

During the discussion, reference was also made to legal proceedings against the Israeli leader, with Asif pointing to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Netanyahu in connection with alleged war crimes in Gaza.