Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi suggests Islamabad send “aggressive and charming” individuals to US pubs to rival Indian diplomatic influence, drawing sharp backlash online.
May 7, 2025: New Delhi – As tensions between India and Pakistan escalate following India’s precision strikes under Operation Sindoor, a bizarre suggestion from senior Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi has gone viral, triggering ridicule and criticism on social media.
In an interview with Samaa TV, Sethi lamented Pakistan’s weak diplomatic footprint in the United States, saying India’s influence through its diaspora and lobbying groups far outweighs that of Islamabad.
Sethi’s Suggestion: Pubs, Parks, and Charm
“You need to be a little more aggressive and charming,” Sethi said. “Sometimes you need to sit in pubs, take a walk in the park, mix humour and sarcasm. This is diplomacy, person to person.”
Calling Pakistani bureaucrats “timid”, Sethi recommended sending individuals to the US who “know the culture” and could connect on a personal level to sway opinion in Washington’s think tanks and power corridors.
Also Read: S Jaishankar’s One-Line Warning to the World After Operation Sindoor
Only Pakistan could think of such absurd idea on national TV
— Nighat Abbas (@Nighat_Abbass) May 4, 2025
Pak journalist Najam Sethi: “To counter Indian influence in the US, Pakistan should send women to pubs to charm think tanks.”
Debauchery seems part of Failed State Pakistan!@ImtiazMadmood pic.twitter.com/3nzENTuIXR
The statement sparked outrage across platforms, with many users interpreting his comments — though gender-neutral — as a coded reference to sending women, a charge that Sethi has not responded to publicly.
Social Media Reactions: ‘Diplomacy or Debauchery?’
Critics across India and Pakistan blasted Sethi’s remarks. One X user posted:
“Only Pakistan could come up with such absurd ideas. Sending women to charm think tanks? Diplomacy has hit a new low.”
Another wrote sarcastically:
“Only Najam Sethi’s brilliance could produce this masterstroke of foreign policy. Pubs over policy!”
Some termed the comment a “national embarrassment”, while others accused Sethi of trivializing statecraft during a time of military and diplomatic crisis.
Backdrop: India’s Operation Sindoor
Sethi’s remarks come just hours after India launched Operation Sindoor, a tri-services military response targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
Also Read: PM Modi Named Operation Sindoor: A Symbolic Tribute to the Widows of Pahalgam Massacre
While India has emphasized that its strikes were precise and non-escalatory, Pakistan has resorted to cross-border shelling, leading to civilian casualties on both sides.
Tags: Najam Sethi, India Pakistan relations, Operation Sindoor, Pakistani diplomacy, US foreign policy, India US ties, bizarre statements, viral video, OperationSindoor,