ISLAMABAD: India summoned Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Wednesday at the Foreign Office in New Delhi to protest against the cancellation of an event of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), in which Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale was scheduled to participate.
New Delhi reportedly accused Pakistan of “pressurising” the organisers of the event to cancel it “just to stop the participation of the Indian high commissioner”, said officials at the Foreign Office.
Abdul Basit, while rejecting the Indian claim, maintained that the KCCI was an independent organisation and had nothing to do with the government. He also said that Indian authorities had not allowed him to participate in various events in India, and blamed the Indian government for directly stopping him from attending a number of events there.
On the other hand, the KCCI also rejected the Indian claim of cancelling the event on Pakistani government’s pressure. “The event scheduled for Tuesday was cancelled due to security issues,” a spokesman for the KCCI said, adding that relating the matter to the Indian high commissioner’s statement regarding Kashmir was irrelevant.
Meanwhile, the Indian Express reported that Basit was conveyed India’s view on the “discourtesy” towards Bambawale by Karachi Chamber of Commerce that cancelled the event at the last minute. “He (Basit) was also conveyed our hope that our accredited diplomats in Pakistan will be allowed to discharge their normal functions without hindrance,” the newspaper quoted Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup as saying.
