Diplomat in Delhi to represent Pakistan at anti-tobacco moot

Indian ministry says it has not received any visa application from Pakistan yet

ISLAMABAD: Fozia Fayyaz, the first secretary at the Pakistan High Commission in India, will represent Pakistan at an important global anti-tobacco conference in New Delhi.

This was stated by director-general of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) Dr Asad Hafeez on Monday.



The week-long event aims at bringing together the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC’s 180 Parties . Dr Hafeez said that the ministry had requested the Pakistan High Commission in India via the foreign ministry to nominate an official to represent the ministry at the major event.

Till last week, uncertainty prevailed over Pakistan’s participation mainly because of the ongoing tension between the two neighbouring countries.



Later, there was confusion after a statement by the Minister of State for NHSRC in which she maintained that Pakistani health ministry officials had not secured visas to attend the conference. The statement was later denied by federal health ministry officials. It reflected a lack of coordination between the state minister and her subordinate staff regarding issues handled by the ministry.

Reuters quoted Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar as saying: “It is a very important meeting on tobacco, but our visit does not appear feasible due to ongoing tensions.”

While commenting on the statement, Dr Hafeez said: “She (the minister) was quoted out of context.”



However, it seemed strange that the ministry did not issue any clarification in this regard despite knowing that it was factually incorrect.

The Express Tribune tried to contact State Minister for NHSRC Saira Afzal Tarar but she was unavailable for comment.

A spokesperson for the Indian High Commission said in the meantime: “It is strange that the Pakistan Ministry of Health issued this statement without (first) checking the facts … It may kindly be noted that the Indian High Commission has not received any visa application from the Pakistani side either from the health ministry or from the foreign affairs ministry.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2016.