Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said on Tuesday that while reacting to Afghan diplomats not standing for Pakistan’s national anthem, it was ‘against the diplomatic norms’.
“The disrespect of the host country’s national anthem is against diplomatic norms, ” said Baloch,
This act of Acting Consul General of Afghanistan is reprehensible. We are conveying our strong protest to the Afghan authorities both in Islamabad and Kabul,” she added.
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On Tuesday, during the Rehmat-ul-Alameen Conference in Peshawar, Afghan Consul General Hafiz Muhibullah Shakir sparked controversy by remaining seated while Pakistan’s national anthem was played, disregarding established diplomatic protocols.
Sources have confirmed that the Afghan official who disrespected the national anthem today has incomplete documentation. Mohibullah Shakir neither holds an Afghan passport nor any other valid documents.
According to the records, he and his family received dollars and rations from the UNHCR in 2015 and returned to Afghanistan. Their Proof of Registration (PoR) cards have long expired, and as of September 1, he and all other Afghan refugees are residing illegally, as the Ministry of Interior has not granted an extension.
