Pakistan: Guest at Indian Envoy’s Iftar party harassed by Pak officials in Islamabad
The guests invited to an Iftar party hosted by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad were allegedly stopped and harassed by Pakistani officials on Saturday. The guests were intimidated and "aggressively" turned away from the venue by Pakistani officials.
The Pakistani officials surrounded Hotel Serena, the venue of the Iftar party, and harassed hundreds of guests who had come to attend they, and harassed hundreds of guests who had come to attend the event event organised by an Indian envoy, news agency ANI reported.
"Before that, they called invitees from unknown numbers and threatened them with consequences if they attended the Iftar party hosted by the Indian High Commission," Sources said.
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria to ANI: They not only violate basic norms of diplomatic conduct and civilized behaviour, they are counter-productive for our bilateral relations. (2/2) https://t.co/P38ualSWDj
— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2019
The guests were forced to leave the venue, the news agency reported. "We apologise to all our guests who have aggressively turned away from our Iftar yesterday. Such intimidatory tactics are deeply disappointing," Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria said.
"They not only violate basic norms of diplomatic conduct and civilised behaviour, but they are also counter-productive for our bilateral relations," he said.
The High Commission of India to Pakistan had organised an Iftar party in Islamabad on June 1 and had also extended an invite to Pakistani leadership including Prime Minister Imran Khan.
First published: 2 June 2019, 11:42 IST