By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A London-based social media activist thrust into the spotlight after appearing in photos from a United Nations Security Council session has accused the defence minister of undermining the prime minister’s authority, escalating a public dispute over her presence with the country’s delegation during last week’s General Assembly meetings in New York.
Shama Junejo, a columnist and activist whose past social media posts expressing support for Israel have drawn sharp criticism in Pakistan, claimed in a post on X on Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had personally included her in the delegation as an adviser. She detailed her involvement in drafting speeches and attending high-level meetings, directly contradicting statements from Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and the Foreign Office that distanced the government from her.
The uproar began when images from Asif’s address at a UN Security Council session on artificial intelligence circulated widely on X. Users highlighted Junejo sitting in the background and shared screenshots from her timeline dating back several years that appeared to back Israel — a stance that clashes with Pakistan’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause.
Facing backlash, Asif posted on X that only the Foreign Office could explain her presence. “This woman or whoever sat behind me was and is at the discretion of the Foreign Office,” he wrote. “Who is this woman? Why is she with the delegation, and why was she seated behind me? Only the FO can answer these questions. It is not appropriate for me to respond on their behalf.”
The Foreign Office soon issued a clarification. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted queries regarding the seating of a certain individual behind the defence minister at a recent meeting of the UNSC. To clarify, the individual in question was not listed in the official letter of credence for the Pakistan delegation to the 80th UNGA session, signed by the deputy prime minister and foreign minister. As such, her seating behind the defence minister did not have the approval of the deputy prime minister/ foreign minister.”
Asif elaborated on the matter during an appearance on private news channel. “I was taken aback, rather I was a bit disturbed that such people could be with the delegation whom no one owns later,” the minister said. He denied that Junejo had written Sharif’s speech for the 80th UN General Assembly session and said that, as far as he knew, she held no official position as an adviser or special assistant.
Junejo fired back in her Sunday post on X, asserting that she had been working for the prime minister for months. “My policy briefs, advice and points during the Pakistan-India escalation are all part of the record and preserved,” she wrote, adding that Sharif had assigned her to write his UN speech.
She claimed the prime minister included her in the delegation as an adviser and that she was issued a security pass. “I worked with his team day and night. I travelled with him, stayed with his team in the same hotel and was also a part of his important meetings on the sidelines (of the UNGA session), such as the one with Bill Gates,” Junejo said. She added that during a conference on climate on the UN General Assembly sidelines, she sat with Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar behind the prime minister.
After the climate session, Junejo said, the protocol team escorted her to the AI session, where she sat behind Asif next to a man she identified as Bilal. She shared a photo of herself with Asif and Bilal Bin Saqib, chief executive officer of the Pakistan Crypto Council, along with an image of her UN card.
At the AI conference, she continued, Bilal wrote a new speech, and “we had tea together afterwards.” “We sat together for 40 minutes waiting for the car, and returned to the hotel together in the same car. Khawaja Asif sahib sat with me on the backseat of the car,” she wrote.
Junejo also said she was at the UN “with the others” when Sharif delivered his speech. “There, Khawaja Asif was sitting in front of me, and we all applauded together for the prime minister.” She described the prime minister’s “historic speech” as “not only written by her, but it was teamwork,” noting she had previously claimed in April to be part of the speech-writing team.
Her return flight was booked in advance, she added, and the mission’s protocol team dropped her at the airport.
Junejo questioned Asif’s motives. “Why is Khawaja Asif sahib issuing such statements now and under what agenda is he tarnishing a historic visit of his government?” She urged Sharif to confront him, saying, “The prime minister should ask him about this, as his authority has been challenged, not mine.”
In an English-language post on X, she said Asif’s statements and the Foreign Office’s clarification “have embarrassed Pakistan globally.” She warned: “If anyone attempts to malign my character or professional integrity, I reserve the right to pursue legal action in the UK.”
Official sources, speaking to the newspaper Dawn, confirmed that while the Foreign Office did not issue a letter of credence for Junejo, she joined Sharif’s entourage from Britain and stayed at the same hotel. Upon arrival in New York, Pakistan’s UN mission was directed by “a senior political leader” to issue a note verbale to facilitate her accreditation for meetings, including the Security Council debate. The leader argued that although she was not part of the official delegation notified by the Foreign Office, she was in the entourage. A source told Dawn that the Foreign Office had no prior knowledge of her inclusion.
The Dawn report also noted Junejo’s social media posts from London mentioning possession of “secret files,” raising questions about document security. Junejo addressed this in a post on X: “There was a fire incident at the Churchill Hotel which left me panicked. I am disabled and was not assisted during evacuation. I carried hard copies of speech drafts and meeting notes — my personal intellectual property. These were sensitive but not state documents. I held no access to or custody of any official files beyond my remit.”
Amid the scrutiny, Junejo sought to clarify her views on Israel. In a post on X, she said the impression of her being pro-Israel stemmed from a 2018 post. “Whereas, I have been writing against the massacre in Gaza and Netanyahu almost daily since 2023. But nobody sees that.” Her statements on Pakistan recognizing Israel came during the Abraham Accords, she explained, and she has condemned Israel’s actions since its invasion of Gaza. “I will keep doing so,” she added, referencing a video of Pakistani delegates walking out during the recent U.N. General Assembly session to boycott Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech. Junejo had earlier shared screenshots of posts calling out Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.
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