Pakistani Officials Intimidate, Harass Guests To Prevent Them From Attending Indian High Commission’s Iftar Party

A number of Invitees to an Iftar party which was being held by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad yesterday (1 June) were not able to attend the said event following harassment and threats by Pakistani intelligence officials, reports India Today.

It is estimated that hundreds of guests were aggressively told to go back by the Pakistani officials at the gates of the Serena Hotel. The Intelligence personnel, after shutting down the entrance, lied to the guests that the event had been cancelled

Prior to this, many of the invitees had also received threatening phone calls which told them that they would face consequences if the attended the event.

The incident was condemned by the Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, who apologised to the invitees who faced intimidation by the Pakistani side.

"We apologise to all our guests who have aggressively turned away from our Iftar yesterday. Such intimidatory tactics are deeply disappointing. They not only violate basic norms of diplomatic conduct and civilised behaviour, they are counter-productive for our bilateral relations," said Bisaria.