Iftar guests harassed; hold probe, India tells Pakistan

Tribune news service

NEW DELHI, JUNE 2

India has protested the harassment of Pakistani guests invited to an Iftar at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Saturday.

“The disappointing chain of events at Serena Hotel not only violate basic norms of diplomatic conduct, but are against all norms of civilised behaviour,” said a note verbale issued by the Indian High Commission in Pakistan to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The chain of events being referred to began with security forces laying a virtual siege around the hotel, the venue of the event hosted by Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria. Guests have copiously posted their harassment on social media.

India has complained that forklifts were deployed around the hotels and cars of some guests were towed away while many were expressly asked not to attend the function. Bisaria apologised to invitees, who had come from as far away as Lahore and Karachi for not being able to attend the Iftar.

Indian guests to an Iftar by the Pakistan High Commission on May 29 were subjected to similar close quarter checking by Indian agencies.

Former Pakistan Senator Farhatullah Babar, who managed to make it to the Iftar with great difficulty, described the chain of incidents as “pettiness on both sides of the border.”

Protesting the incident, the Indian High Commission said the incident “not only violated the basic norms of diplomatic conduct, but was against all norms of civilised behaviour... and entirely counter-productive for our bilateral relationship”.  It also asked the Pakistani government to “urgently investigate these ugly events” and share the result of the exercise with it. 

High Commissioner Bisaria, in his brief address to the audience, said that some of the guests could not make to the party. “I want to apologise because some of you faced a lot of trouble to come here and some of our friends could not come,” he said.

Bisaria also said that people had come from Lahore and Karachi to attend the event and thanked them for coming. — (With PTI inputs)