Pak's Rehman Malik in denial on Baghdadi death; not new to controversy

Rehman Malik has kicked off a storm by saying that he is waiting for the ISIS to confirm the death of the world's most wanted terrorist Abu-Bakr-al-Baghdadi. The former interior minister said that there is a “confused situation in Syria” and that he was “happy if” Baghdadi was dead. The head of ISIS was killed by US military during a raid in Northwest Syria where he detonated a suicide vest.

READ: 'US Knows Successors Of Baghdadi': President Donald Trump

Rehman Malik doubts Baghdadi's death

Senator Rehman Malik - a retired Federal Investigation Agency officer turned politician - will wait for the confirmation from ISIS over the death of their leader Abu Bakr-al-Baghdadi. Tweeting his reaction over the news of Baghdadi's elimination by the US forces, Malik said that “the death of Baghdadi has been reported by President of USA” and “I have not seen any confirmation yet from ISIS-I m happy if he is dead (sic)”. This “if” is precisely the reason behind his statements drawing attention as in the four sentence tweet he questioned the death of Baghdadi twice. He said: “Let us see if he is killed in reality or not”- a direct question over the announcement made from the White House by the President of the United States Donald Trump. 

READ: US Dog Injured In Raid That Killed Baghdadi

US President Trump had not only announced the death of one of the most dangerous terrorists in the world but also took questions from journalists and shared the details of the operation. While Malik finds himself in the eye of the storm, he is not new to controversy especially when it comes to international affairs. In August 2019 the member of the Pakistan Peoples Party was in hot water over his tweet on Kashmir. Targeting the government of India in relation to the abrogation of article 370, he had put several tweets showing videos with claims of Indian army attacking villages in Kashmir.

It turned out that the video was fake and he was peddling fake news. Spreading fake news cost him the suspension of one his Twitter accounts as he did not wait to malign India's image. This is also one of the reasons that Malik is receiving flak as he did not think before putting out a fake video against India but would like to hear from ISIS for “conformation”. Another incident where the former minister was criticised was for equating Babri Masjid demolition with 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. The list does not end here. Rehman was left red-faced while being chased off by passengers of Pakistan International Airlines for delaying flight by over two hours.

READ: Baghdadi's Death A 'milestone' But Fight Not Yet Over

France, UK and other countries welcome US operation

While countries like France, United Kingdom, Japan, Turkey and others have welcomed the US operation which led to the death of Al-Baghdadi, Pakistan's senior politician chose to question the validity of the comments made by the US President. What is important to note here is that Malik's own party members are nowhere seen endorsing his statements. Neither now, nor during other instances.

READ: Baghdadi's Death Major Victory Over ISIS: US Defense Secretary