Pakistani journalist blames Mossad for 'military coup' reports: 'Israel wants to destroy Zardari-Shehbaz-Munir power troika'

The Pakistani leadership have been on damage control mode for the past two days as reports emerged that plans were afoot for a military coup that will see the country's Army Chief replace Asif Ali Zardari as the President.

While Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself dismissed it as a rumour, a Pakistani journalist has now come up with a conspiracy theory blaming Israeli spy agency Mossad for the media chatter about a possible constitutional amendment to replace Zardari with Munir, according to reports.

Renowned journalist and Pakistan's Geo News Network host Hamid Mir claimed that the rumour was a "Mossad espionage plan against the power troika that involved President, Prime Minister and the Army Chief".

"The Zionist regime is deeply angered by Pakistan’s clear support for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 12-day war. Mossad plan to assassinate one of the power troika in Islamabad, and this has been exposed," said Mir, who claimed he had intelligence to prove his theory. He, however, did not mention what the theory was.

Mir often peddles baseless information via his social media handle, especially against India. His X handle has been blocked by the Indian government for its provocative and baseless content.

The media person claimed that Zardari's positions during his first term as president between 2008 and 2013 were against any Pakistani joining the Syrian opposition camp. "Zardari sought efforts to reconcile Tehran and Riyadh with the help of China, which led Mossad to use internal chaos and a personality destruction scenario against him," Mir claimed.

The Pakistani journalist, often a mouthpiece for the ruling class, said Mossad wanted to create political instability in Pakistan. "Some foreign powers were also trying to pressure Pakistan's political-military leadership to back down from their positions in support of Iran, but this [strategy] also failed," he said. "Pakistani government thwarted the Mossad plan on time by informing the public about the conspiracy".

Pakistan's Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Naqvi too strongly denied reports demanding the resignation of the country's president and replacing him with the army chief. "We say to those involved in this false narrative, do whatever you want with the cooperation of the hostile foreign service, and we will do whatever is necessary to make Pakistan strong again," he said.

Middle East