Iftar party row: Omar Abdullah urges India, Pak to ‘stop this nonsense’

Srinagar: National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Sunday reacted to the row over Indian High Commissioner’s party in Islamabad urging both the countries to "stop this nonsense".

Omar's response came after sources said that guests were "aggressively turned away" by Pakistani security officials from an Iftar party hosted by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Saturday and even calls were made to stop many of them from attending it.

Criticising the Pakistani side for their "tit for tat diplomacy", Omaar tweeted, "Stupid tit for tat diplomacy. It was stupid when we did it outside the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi & it's stupid when it's done outside ours in Islamabad. Now that it's 1-1 perhaps it's time to move on & stop this nonsense."

Indian envoy Ajay Bisaria told ANI on Sunday that "such intimidatory tactics" are "counter-productive" for bilateral relations.

"We apologise to all our guests who were aggressively turned away from our Iftar party last evening. Such intimidatory tactics are deeply disappointing. They not only violate basic norms of diplomatic conduct and civilised behaviour, but are also counter-productive for our bilateral relations," he said.

Media reports claimed that additional scrutiny was thrust upon the guests attending the party by Pakistani security officials, who also forced many to return from the event.

"Pakistani agencies virtually laid a siege on Hotel Serena on Saturday, harassed, intimidated and turned back hundreds of guests," sources told ANI on Sunday.

"Before that, they called invitees from masked numbers and threatened them with consequences if they attended the Iftar. They sunk to a new low of harassment, mostly of their own people," they added.