Iftar event guests 'intimidated, harassed' in Pakistan, India seeks probe
CHANDIGARH: The Indian High Commission in Islamabad has sought an “urgent” probe into “unprecedented harassment and intimidation” of guests invited to its Iftar party on Saturday. The guests faced enhanced security checks by Pakistani officials who stopped some invitees on one pretext or the other, the Indian mission said on Sunday, protesting the “ugly” incident. “The guests faced unprecedented harassment and intimidation at the hands of security agencies,” the Indian High Commission said in a statement.
It said the guests were “intimidated and even physically stopped” from attending the party by Pakistani security forces, who had virtually laid the venue, Serena Hotel, under siege. “A concerted campaign was launched by Pakistan’s security agencies in the days preceding the iftar function to reach out to the invitees to actively dissuade them from attending the event,” it said.
Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria had hosted the annual event, to which guests were invited from all over Pakistan. The High Commission said security officials stationed on the main road outside the hotel “rudely rebuffed and intimidated” officers and diplomatic staff of the High Commission who tried to ascertain from the security personnel the reason for the harassment of the guests.
“Some officials were jostled, pushed, abused and aggressively threatened with bodily harm. In some cases, a mobile phone belonging to the officials were snatched away,’ it said. Protesting the incident, the High Commission asked the Pakistani government to “urgently investigate these ugly events” and share the result of the exercise with it.
Meanwhile, those attending the event also said that additional security deployment was made around the luxury hotel.“An unprecedented level of harassment at @serena_hotels Islamabad. #India embassy iftaar happening & police & anti-terrorism force misbehaving with anyone trying into get in the hotel. Got screamed at, my driver abused. Sorry, not being an entitled prick. This was genuine harassment,” tweeted noted journalist Mehreen Zahra-Malik.
Even Pakistan diplomats not spared
Many guests from Pakistan’s diplomatic community were also subjected to harassment. A large Pakistani security detachment was detailed outside Serena Hotel to turn away Pakistani citizens, the Indian mission said. Adding that in some cases, guests’ cars were lifted and removed using forklifts. Over 300 Pakistani guests were prevented from attending the event