Swat terror attack: Pak foreign ministry says had no idea diplomats were travelling together

Islamabad: The targeted terror attack on the convoy of dozen foreign ambassadors in Swat district on Monday has become a serious bone of contention between the Pakistan Foreign Office in Islamabad and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, both surprisingly claiming that they were not aware of the visit of foreign diplomats to the region.

One security official was killed as the convoy carrying diplomats from several countries – including Russia, Portugal, Iran, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Bosnia and Herzegovina – was attacked by a planted roadside bomb on Malam Jabba Road in Swat district on September 23.

During a weekly press briefing on Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson said that the foreign office had no idea about the travel plan of foreign diplomats to the tourist spot of Malam Jabba for an event organised by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

“With regards to this particular incident of 23rd of September, this was a trip which was organised by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and not by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or any other government institution.

We have taken a serious note of the lapses which were made by the concerned individuals, including their failure to inform the Ministry about such a high profile visit,” said Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

The statement by the foreign office spokesperson came as a big surprise to all as foreign diplomats are required to inform the country’s foreign office about their travel plans within the country for proper protocol and security arrangements.

Baloch claimed that the information regarding travel of certain ambassadors, who had contacted the Pakistan Foreign Office, was shared with the KP government in writing, adding that she had documentary evidence for that as well.

“We have undertaken an internal investigation and have come to the conclusion that as far as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned, all protocols were followed.

This includes information regarding the travel of ambassadors who contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs individually regarding their travel to the KP province,” she said.

“The fact that there would be so many ambassadors traveling together for a particular event was not shared… We are in the process of discussions and internal deliberations on how to rectify what has happened and how to fix this for the future,” the spokesperson added.

However, the KP government led by PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur rejected foreign office’s claim, stating that it was kept in the dark about the visit of foreign diplomats to the region.

Everyone agrees though that it was a major security lapse on part of the authorities as lives of at least 12 diplomats were put at risk.

While the security forces are investigating the incident and collecting evidence, the KP government too is not ready to take responsibility for the security lapse for the Swat incident.

The Pakistan Foreign Office also claims that it follows proper security protocols for all diplomats present in the country, the Swat incident and the startling revelations by the foreign office of it being unaware that so many ambassadors were traveling together for a particular event, has raised serious questions over the coordination between Islamabad and provincial governments.

Experts say that the Swat attack has exposed the major differences between the Shehbaz Sharif led federal government and the PTI’s provincial regime.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been a hotbed of terrorism and unrest with Swat district being one of the many regions used by the militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to regain its control.