India summons Pakistani high commissioner over 'discourtesy'

Move comes after cancellation of an event in Karachi where Indian envoy Gautam Bambawale was invited to speak

NEW DELHI: Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit was summoned on Wednesday at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi over "discourtesy" by authorities in Karachi who "cancelled an event where an Indian envoy was due to speak at the eleventh hour".

"Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit was summoned today to the MEA and conveyed the concern of GOI by Secretary (West) on discourtesy to Indian High Commissioner," a Ministry of External Affairs statement read.



"He was also conveyed our hope that our accredited diplomats in Pakistan will be allowed to discharge their normal functions without hindrance."

The said event, organised by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), was scheduled for Tuesday (September 6), but was cancelled.

"Mr Gautam Bambawale, will visit the Karachi Chamber to meet office bearers and members on 6th September, 2016 at 3:15 pm,” the KCCI’s event invite read.

"We did not get security clearance for the event," a Karachi Chamber spokesperson told The Express Tribune.

According to NDTV, Bambawale, who was on his first visit to Karachi after assuming charge in January this year, was told about the cancellation just half an hour before the event.



On Monday, the Indian envoy while speaking at the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations had said, “People living in glass houses should not be throwing stones at others”.

He called Kashmir an ‘internal matter’ of India. “There are problems in both India and Pakistan and you [Pakistan] should focus on resolving your problems before looking into the problems of other countries.”

According to sources, Bambawale’s comments on Kashmir “rattled the Pakistani authorities, prompting a cancellation”.