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he 80th United Nations General Assembly was not just a diplomatic summit—it was a global media spectacle. Each year, the big question for the Pakistani delegation is what can be achieved from this global platform other than photo-ops with some dignitaries and the customary addresses at a platform that seems to have lost the ability to find meaningful solutions for many global crises.
Pakistan’s delegation, led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, arrived this year amidst a more upbeat environment following the war with India and the lavish praise the country had received from US President Donald Trump. The delegation conveyed a message of moral clarity, strategic ambiguity and assertive symbolism.
The prime minister’s speech at the UN General Assembly was emotionally charged and rhetorically bold. He condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide,” reaffirmed support for Kashmir and praised Donald Trump for brokering peace with India. The optics were designed to position Pakistan as a moral voice for the Muslim world. However, the praise for Trump sounded out of place and raised questions about strategic coherence.
Shahbaz Sharif’s speech, it seemed, was more tailored to the domestic audiences than reflective of a clear foreign policy agenda. If the country is eyeing a new position in the rapidly changing global diplomatic chessboard, it was not clear.
Sharif’s address and his subsequent meeting with US President Donald Trump received moderate coverage in American media. Most of the reporting came from international and Diaspora-focused outlets rather than mainstream US networks.
This coverage focused more on the symbolism of the meeting and its context in the broader diplomatic efforts to address the Gaza crisis. There was no major commentary or analysis from leading US outlets like CNN, The New York Times or The Washington Post, suggesting that the event was not a top-tier diplomatic priority in American media narratives. Some members of the contingent accompanying the PM raised slogans from the gallery. This violation of the norms earned them the ire of other delegates. It was in bad taste. UN security officials have since launched an investigation into how the individuals gained access and why slogans tied to Pakistan’s internal politics were voiced in a formal diplomatic setting.
The United Nations General Assembly maintains a strict protocol, especially in the visitors’ gallery, which is accessible only through passes issued by member states’ diplomatic missions.
The presence of Dr Shama Junejo—a UK-based columnist and social media activist—at the 80th UNGA session as part of Pakistan’s delegation has sparked a measure of controversy. Her seating directly behind Defence Minister Khawaja Asif during a United Nations Security Council session on artificial intelligence has since been the subject of social media commentary.
Khawaja Asif, through a post on X, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via an official press release, later denied any knowledge of how Dr Junejo became part of the delegation. This has raised a fundamental question: how did an individual not officially listed in the delegation’s letter of credence gain such proximity to Pakistan’s top diplomatic representatives? The denials did little to clear the air, especially as Junejo claimed that she had been formally included by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and had contributed to drafting his UNGA speech.
The episode has raised concerns about communication within Pakistan’s diplomatic institutions. In international forums like the UNGA, seating arrangements and delegation composition are tightly regulated.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was the only senior official from the Pakistani delegation to give a direct interview to a Western media outlet that was widely circulated and discussed. CNN and Al Jazeera focused on Khawaja Asif’s interview with Mehdi Hasan. It also became a flashpoint for Pakistani mainstream and social media. The interview was tense and confrontational, with Mehdi Hasan asking pointed questions.
Khawaja Asif struggled to defend hybrid governance and appeared to contradict himself on how the country was being run; the validity of elections in 2024; and Imran Khan’s social media activity. An intense debate on social media, especially around civil-military relations and the treatment of Imran Khan, followed.
CNN’s Becky Anderson fact-checked Asif on claims made during the interview, pointing out a ‘lack of evidence.’
The interview can be seen as typical of journalistic scrutiny and political deflection. Mehdi Hasan sought to point out contradictions in Asif’s narrative. Asif’s responses reflected the entrenched challenges facing Pakistan’s democratic evolution.
The day was saved by the visuals from the meeting at the Oval Office where Pakistan’s civil-military leaders rubbed shoulders with the US president, secretary of state and other high-ranking officials. Although the White House did not issue any official readout of the meeting, President Trump in his brief remarks before the meeting minced no words in praising the Pakistani leaders.
Critics on social media notwithstanding, a majority of the mainstream Pakistani media framed the UNGA presence as a diplomatic victory, emphasising Sharif’s strong speech and meetings with Trump and leaders of other Islamic countries. The tone was celebratory.
Pakistan’s UNGA 2025 campaign was bold but brittle. The delegation commanded attention but struggled to maintain coherence under scrutiny. The optics were emotionally resonant but strategically inconsistent.
Social media added another layer with viral moments, hashtags and influencer narratives shaping perceptions far beyond the UN floor. The Pakistani leaders and the audience back home are slowly coming to terms with the realities of new media, where narratives are shaped beyond the traditional editorial controls exercised in the mainstream media outlets.
In the age of global diplomacy, optics are not just about visibility—they are also about credibility, coherence and control.
The writer teaches journalism at Lamar University in Texas. His X handle: awaissaleem77.