CBS, whose owner Larry Ellison is the biggest donor to the Israeli Occupation Forces, and editor-in-chief Bari Weiss is an ardent pro-Israel voice has reported that Pakistan is playing double game by shielding Iranian military aircraft.
The report then drifts to "reveal" how Pakistan is growing closer to China. This report came in conjunction with another saying Pakistan often "does not convey Trump's displeasure to Iran" and "tends to paint positive picture of negotiations."
It is not for Pakistan to convey Trump's displeasure or present a candid view of Iranian positions. Pakistan just conveys messages. The task of interpretation and gleaning the other party's thinking belongs to the concerned parties themselves, who are not new to negotiations and have already met to get a better sense of each other's perspective.
The sleight here is familiar and much easier to grasp if viewed alongside Netanyahu's mild reference to Pakistan in his recent CBS 60 Minutes interview, where he blames social media for driving a wedge between Israel and the US. After failing to force Saudi Arabia into the war despite concerted false reporting about Saudi's role, the backup plan of blemishing the mediator has been activated. They also cannot outright bomb mediator like Pakistan as they did with Qatar.
The aim behind this sabotage is not hard to guess. The MAGA core is split on war, with the anti-war camp led by Tucker, Fuentes, and Kelly holding a decisive edge over the pro war camp. The pro war intelligentsia in DC increasingly sees where Netanyahu's war has led the US. There is no better example than Robert Kagan in The Atlantic. And perhaps biggest of all, Trump himself is unwilling to be dragged any further, best shown by his indefinite ceasefire extension and backing of Saudi and Pakistani efforts to help restore some sort of status quo ante bellum.
Not only has Netanyahu's regime change bet failed and Iran increasingly emerged as the ultimate arbiter of power in the Middle East, but his chances of going to jail have multiplied with looming defeat in approaching Israeli elections. So this current, and near future, media cacophony against Pakistan has to be viewed in its right context.
