Islamabad: India denounced Sunday the sabotage of the traditional iftar hosted by the country’s envoy to Pakistan and said it violated ‘all notions of civilised behaviour’, and lodged a strong protest with Islamabad.
“The disappointing chain of events June 1 not only violate basic norms of diplomatic conduct but are against all notions of civilised behaviour,” a statement from the Indian High Commission here said.
“Stopping diplomats and officials of the High Commission of India in Pakistan from discharging their diplomatic functions by intimidation and coercion is entirely counter-productive for our bilateral relationship,” the statement further stated.
Pakistani security personnel forcibly stopped some 300 visitors, mainly Pakistanis, from attending the iftar hosted by Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria at Hotel Serena here Saturday. They also misbehaved with Indian diplomats.
“The security forces stationed on the main road outside Hotel Serena rudely rebuffed and intimated officers and diplomatic staff of the High Commission of India who tried to ascertain from the security personnel the reasons for harassment of the guests,” the statement said.
“Some officials were jostled, pushed, abused and aggressively threatened with bodily harm. In some cases, mobile phones belonging to officials were snatched. Guests faced unprecedented harassment and intimidation at the hands of the Pakistani security agencies.”
It said a concerted campaign was launched by Pakistani security agencies in the days preceding the iftar to reach out to invitees to actively dissuade them from attending the event.
“Those guests who did reach the function venue, in some cases from places as far as Lahore and Karachi, were intimidated and physically stopped from attending the iftar by Pakistani security forces, who had virtually laid the Serena Hotel under siege,” the statement informed.
The High Commission said India ‘has strongly protested to Pakistan’ over ‘the gross intimidation of guests’.
The mission urged the Pakistani government to ‘urgently investigate these ugly events and share the results of the exercise’ with it.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi were among those invited to the event but they skipped it.
Pakistani security officials allegedly also telephoned members of the Karachi Federation of Chambers of Commerce, the Faisalabad Chambers of Commerce and the Lahore Chambers of Commerce not to attend the iftar party.
The Pakistani media did not report Saturday’s incident, which comes days after Islamabad accused Indian security personnel of obstructing Indians from attending an iftar party thrown by the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
IANS