Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amina Baloch has told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Friday that Afghan Consul General Of Pakistan On the issue of ‘disrespect’ of the national anthem Afghanistan The Pakistani ambassador will record the protest.
A recent meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs took up the matter of a ceremony in Peshawar, in which the Afghan Consul General along with his colleague remained seated during the national anthem.
Chairman Committee Senator Irfan Siddiqui asked the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amina Baloch, ‘What has been the reaction to the incident of the Afghan Consul General?’ To which the Secretary replied that he has responded to the issue of the Afghan Consul General not standing during the national anthem.
He said that there is a procedure to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about inviting a foreign diplomat. The provinces have been contacted to implement this procedure and reminded that in future if anyone is to be invited, the Ministry of External Affairs should be informed in advance.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed that instructions have been issued to the Pakistani Ambassador in Kabul to also record the protest.
The Chairman Committee then asked about the procedure for inviting a foreign diplomat. Amina Baloch said that before calling a foreign diplomat, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the camp office in the provinces are informed.
Explaining the procedure, the secretary said that ‘after informing the Ministry of External Affairs with the aims and objectives, the Ministry issues NOC (advance permission) to the government department after which the event takes place.’
The question of the committee that ‘Did the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tell you when he invited the Afghan Consul General?’ But the secretary said that ‘she will check and tell.’
The chairman asked again that ‘you don’t know about it? You should have known this beforehand.’
The chairman added that ‘if the head of a province invites someone, you should have known.’
The secretary replied that ‘Many things are vested in the provinces after the Eighteenth Amendment but foreign affairs/policy has not been transferred.’
The secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that ‘Absolutely, after this incident, the provinces have been contacted to inform them if the diplomats are called again.’
This section contains related reference points (Related Nodes field).
On September 17, a video of the Rehmat-ul-Lameen Conference ceremony in Peshawar, in which the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, along with members of the provincial cabinet and Afghan Consul General Muhibullah Shakir, was released on public communication websites.
At the ceremony, during the Pakistani National Anthem, everyone except the Afghan Consul General and his colleague stood up to pay his respects. While the Afghan Consul General was sitting on the seat along with his colleague.
After this video went viral and received severe criticism, Peshawar Afghan Consulate spokesperson Shahidullah Zaheer told Independent Urdu that ‘disrespecting the national anthem of Pakistan was not meant at all, but the Consul General did not stand up because of the music in the anthem. were.’
On the other hand, yesterday, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while rejecting the explanatory statement of the Afghan Consulate, said that ‘desecration of the national anthem of the host country is a violation of diplomatic etiquette. We are consulting in this regard. Pakistan has the right to take any step on the diplomatic front.
The issue of Pakistanis imprisoned abroad
In the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, the matter related to Pakistanis imprisoned abroad was also considered. In the meeting, the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have presented the details of Pakistanis imprisoned in foreign countries to the committee.
The upper house committee was told that 22 thousand 100 Pakistanis are imprisoned in the jails of different countries around the world, most of them are in Saudi Arabia.
The Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the committee that currently 10,400 Pakistanis are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. There are 5,200 Pakistanis in prisons in the United Arab Emirates and 1,400 in Turkey.
Apart from this, Pakistanis are imprisoned in the jails of India, Greece and Oman.
Officials said Pakistanis are imprisoned abroad for murder, rape, illegal entry into the country, drug smuggling, molestation of women, kidnapping, threats, illegal residence, drunk driving and other charges.
The Additional Secretary said that more Pakistani prisoners have been executed in the Gulf countries. ‘Abroad the maximum sentence is 30 years and the minimum sentence is one year.’
Later, the committee also suggested setting up a special desk to keep the families of Pakistanis imprisoned abroad informed about them.
#Ambassador #Kabul #record #protest #national #anthem #Pakistan
2024-09-21 04:08:39
