'Send those who can go to pubs': Pak journo has a sexist solution to beat Indian influence in US

A Pakistani journalist has come up with a shocking sexist solution to counter India diplomacy in the US and this has sparked outrage on social media. Najam Sethi, who was former PCB chairman, said Pakistani bureaucrats are "timid" and should instead send "aggressive and charming" women to lobby for Islamabad.

Talking to Samma TV, Sethi said Indians have a "big influence" in the US and Pakistan needs to get active. "There is a big Indian lobby there, a lot of Indian Americans are in critical positions in both MNCs and corporations and the Senate," he said.

Admitting that Pakistan is not prepared for a diplomatic onslaught, Sethi said strong and articulate academics and think tankers should be sent instead of bureaucrats who fail to cross red lines. "You need to know the culture, sometimes you need to sit in pubs, sometimes you need to take a walk in the park. Sometimes you need to mix a little humour and sarcasm. This is diplomacy, person to person. Charm is very important," he added, hinting that women should be used to gain influence in the US.

Sharing the video, one X user said, "Only Pakistan could think of such absurd idea on national TV."

Najam Sethi, who serves as the Chairman of the Pakistan Super League, was formerly the caretaker chief minister of Punjab province. In 1999, Sethi was arrested for cooperating with the BBC television show Correspondent, which was preparing a report on corruption in the then government headed by Nawaz Sharif.

Sethi's comments comes as Pakistan failed to woo UN Security Council members to release a press statement or resolution. Islamabad was isolated in 15-member council as several UN members grilled its Permanent Representative to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, over the country's role in the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan was also questioned over its missile tests and nuclear threats.

A total of 26 people were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack carried out by The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. In retaliation, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 morning, targeting terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

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