Pakistani envoys in Kenya rain punches on each other; probe ordered
Two Pakistani journalists have claimed that Pakistan's High Commissioner and his deputy in Kenya were involved in a fistfight inside the High Commission premises. One of the journalists said the trigger for the scuffle was 'quite serious', adding that a diplomat had even approached the police to file a complaint.
Have you ever heard of a bare-knuckle boxing match inside a high commission? Reports suggest that was exactly the scene at Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya, where the alleged "combatants" were none other than the country's two most senior representatives there.
Zahid Gishkori, an investigative journalist at Pakistan-based outlet Hum News, on Sunday, claimed that "two senior diplomats" were involved in "a serious physical fight in Pakistan Mission abroad". He added that the Pakistani foreign office has launched an investigation into the alleged incident.
Gishkori, in a post on X, claimed that the brawl broke out at a "foreign mission based in an African country", adding that "one of the diplomats approached the local police".
Another Pakistani journalist, Shahzad Paracha, also posted on X claiming that it was the "Pakistan's High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner in Kenya" who were involved in the fist fight.
Ibrar Hussain Khan is presently the High Commissioner of Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya, and has been serving in the post since September 2023. The Deputy High Commissioner is Adnan Javed Khan.
Claiming that the "reason behind this fight was quite serious", Gishkori said, the "matter was taken up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately".
"After going through basic facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now undertaking an inquiry," Gishkori wrote on X. He also added that "one of the diplomats has approached the local police station."
However, the Pakistan High Commission has not issued an official statement regarding the claims made on social media.
This is one of the rarest cases of physical altercation between top diplomats of a country. But such claims of Pakistani diplomats getting involved in physical assaults are not unheard of.
In 2003, Pakistan's ex-Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, also landed in a major controversy after assaulting his alleged live-in partner Marijana Mihic. This was the time when the Islamic Republic was fighting for a seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member. The US State Department had asked Islamabad to take away his diplomatic immunity due to the controversy.
Akram's partner later changed her statement when the police reached the couple's residence for the probe and said she got injured "after she fell".
For a country trying to broker peace in the US-Iran conflict, watching its own diplomats settle scores with their fists is a rather ironic look.
Have you ever heard of a bare-knuckle boxing match inside a high commission? Reports suggest that was exactly the scene at Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya, where the alleged "combatants" were none other than the country's two most senior representatives there.
Zahid Gishkori, an investigative journalist at Pakistan-based outlet Hum News, on Sunday, claimed that "two senior diplomats" were involved in "a serious physical fight in Pakistan Mission abroad". He added that the Pakistani foreign office has launched an investigation into the alleged incident.
Gishkori, in a post on X, claimed that the brawl broke out at a "foreign mission based in an African country", adding that "one of the diplomats approached the local police".
Another Pakistani journalist, Shahzad Paracha, also posted on X claiming that it was the "Pakistan's High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner in Kenya" who were involved in the fist fight.
Ibrar Hussain Khan is presently the High Commissioner of Pakistan's High Commission in Kenya, and has been serving in the post since September 2023. The Deputy High Commissioner is Adnan Javed Khan.
Claiming that the "reason behind this fight was quite serious", Gishkori said, the "matter was taken up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately".
"After going through basic facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now undertaking an inquiry," Gishkori wrote on X. He also added that "one of the diplomats has approached the local police station."
However, the Pakistan High Commission has not issued an official statement regarding the claims made on social media.
This is one of the rarest cases of physical altercation between top diplomats of a country. But such claims of Pakistani diplomats getting involved in physical assaults are not unheard of.
In 2003, Pakistan's ex-Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, also landed in a major controversy after assaulting his alleged live-in partner Marijana Mihic. This was the time when the Islamic Republic was fighting for a seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as a non-permanent member. The US State Department had asked Islamabad to take away his diplomatic immunity due to the controversy.
Akram's partner later changed her statement when the police reached the couple's residence for the probe and said she got injured "after she fell".
For a country trying to broker peace in the US-Iran conflict, watching its own diplomats settle scores with their fists is a rather ironic look.
