Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has been mocked online for a verbal gaffe in which he was perceived to suggest that post-war Japan and Germany had joint industries along their shared border, despite the 9,000km between them.

Imran Khan’s supposed geographic blunder happened during a joint press conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday. He was speaking in somewhat jumbled English, touting the benefits of having economic ties to defuse political tensions between neighbors.

The more trade you have with each other your ties automatically become stronger… Germany and Japan killed millions of the civilians until after the Second World War [when] they decided that they would have on border, on the border region of Germany and Japan, they had joint industries. So now there is no question of them ever having bad relations because their economic interests are tied together.

The East Asian island nation of Japan and the European power Germany were allies during WWII despite being separated by a great distance. Giving Khan the benefit of the doubt, one would presume he was referring to Japan and Germany trading with their respective neighbors – former targets of their war of aggression – to overcome the hostile attitudes after the war.

Japan is an island country in East Asia located in the Pacific. Germany is in central Europe. They had the same location during the 2nd World War in which they were allies. But PM Imran thinks otherwise and says so before international audience. pic.twitter.com/aR45Y7T2bP — Syed Talat Hussain (@TalatHussain12) April 22, 2019

Still the way he put it gave an opportunity to many commenters to poke fun at the PM, who seemed to imply geographic proximity between the two former Axis members.

😳 our Prime Minister thinks that Germany & Japan share a border. How embarrassing, this is what happenes when you @UniofOxford let people in just because they can play cricket. https://t.co/XJoycRsLG9 — BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) April 23, 2019

According to Imran Khan, Japan and Germany share borders. 🤦🏻‍♂️However, in map, the distance from 🇯🇵 to 🇩🇪 is 9043 kms.🧘🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/kHqjed5mkg — Amir Abbas Turi (@AmirAbbasTuri) April 22, 2019

Germany and Japan share borders, Prime Minister Imran Khan.🤦🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/xN7qV33Lp7 — Tahir Khan (@TahirrKhan) April 22, 2019

Industries on the BORDER Region of Germany and Japan ?? 😂😂 Pakistan's Pappu Imran Khan seems to be smokin same weed as our Pappu 😂😂 #ImranKhanpic.twitter.com/iKs8x1qsRf — Rosy (@rose_k01) April 22, 2019

Germany and Japan share borders, Prime Minister Imran Khan reveals for the first time #ParallelHistorypic.twitter.com/E2ug4wZjbI — Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) April 22, 2019

#dearPM , you just made me question my knowledge of history... and now I am going to be questioning yours... forever. France, it was France. #ImranKhanPrimeMinisterhttps://t.co/lQpwa2ByWk — Maida Ashraf Gondal (@themidnightburn) April 22, 2019

The current chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party used the opportunity to mock Khan’s apparent dearth of geographic knowledge, but was in turn quickly smacked down by the PM’s head of communications.

Mr accidental chairman, where did PM say Japan is neighbouring Germany? PM said border regions of Japan and Germany have joint industries which you failed to grasp and so does few intellectuals, What a waste of stolen Public money on your oxford degree!!! — Iftikhar Durrani (@DuraniIftikhar) April 23, 2019

Khan has fallen afoul of geography in the past, referring to the continent of Africa as “an emerging country” in December, during the Envoys Conference on Economic Diplomacy in Islamabad.

"Africa is an emerging COUNTRY". Haters gonna hate but my kaptaan knows best, Africa is no continent 🌍😂 pic.twitter.com/TtY7rkW7GZ — Naila Inayat नायला इनायत (@nailainayat) December 29, 2018

The Japan-Germany snaffu did not deter President Hassan Rouhani from announcing the creation of a joint ‘reaction force’ on the (real) border between Pakistan and Iran, however.

Also on rt.com Iranian President Rouhani declares joint border ‘reaction force’ with Pakistan

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