A Pakistani senator's post on the social media platform 'X' condemning the Gaza killings has stoked controversy for his use of the image of Adolf Hitler. Senator Afnan Ullah Khan's post seemingly justified the holocaust, the systematic state-sponsored killing of six million Jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by Nazi Germany.
The post was later taken down by X for violating guidelines, but the delay of over 24 hours in doing so angered many netizens.
Senator Afnan Ullah Khan, a member of Nawaz Sharif's PML(N) carried Hitler's image with the caption, "At least now the world know [sic], why he did, what he did." He also added hashtag #GazaGenocide" along with it.
Khan, a vociferous supporter of the Pro-Palestine movement, claims to be the youngest senator in Pakistan on 11 March 2021.
The post drew flak from several users, most of the Palestine supporters. One user wrote: "This is bad, very bad. Please delete it immediately. Nazism was as bad as Zionism, both must be condemned unequivocally."
Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow at King's College, London, and an expert on military affairs reacted to Khan's message: "What absolute and shameful comment. No violence is justifiable be it against Palestinians or Jews. Standing up for the rights of Palestinians doesn’t justify such comments," she said.
Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute Director at The Wilson Center, too hit out against the post, calling it 'pure, unadulterated hate.'
"This comment is pure, unadulterated hate. And it’s still up more than 24 hours after it was posted. It needs to be taken down. And the senator’s party -one of the biggest and most established in Pakistan, and a big part of the previous ruling coalition - should condemn it," Kugelman posted.
Khan had earlier hit out at US Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for his support to Israel, stating his roots make him an "exemplary sycophant."
You are a poor excuse for a human being. Your roots make you an exemplary sycophant but doesn’t matter what you do and how hard you do flattery, you are not going to become the US president. For Israelis, you are still a lowlife disposable Goyim#Gaza #Gaza_Genocide #Gazabombing https://t.co/x0RaGtztwN
— Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan (@afnanullahkh) October 28, 2023
To Ramaswamy's post that "If Israel wants to destroy Hamas, Israel should go ahead and destroy Hamas", Khan posted: "You are a poor excuse for a human being. Your roots make you an exemplary sycophant but doesn’t [sic] matter what you do and how hard you do flattery, you are not going to become the US president. For Israelis, you are still a lowlife disposable Goyim #Gaza #Gaza_Genocide #Gazabombing."
According to Khan's LinkedIn profile, he is actively involved in the Senate's standing committees for IT and telecom, science and technology, aviation, housing and science and tech, aviation, housing and works and petroleum.
