Harsh language often used in diplomatic documents: Former FM Hina Rabbani

Former FM says PTI govt inflated a diplomatic wire out of proportion

Former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar has criticised the treatment of the diplomatic cable by the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, saying that harsh language was often used in diplomatic communication.

Speaking on a local television talk show on Thursday, Khar said that the letter was sent by the Pakistani envoy abroad as a normal course of action but the PTI government had inflated it beyond proportion. She said that diplomatic missions in foreign countries use all kinds of language, harsh and friendly, to send a message to a particular country. The former foreign minister said that Pakistan utilized the same practice itself.

Khar went on to assail the government over its handling of the document, saying that PTI initially claimed it was a letter containing threats to Pakistan from another country. She added that they later changed their statement saying that it was an internal diplomatic cable that our envoy sent to Islamabad, which contained details of a meeting.

She lamented the fact that countries communicating with Pakistan in diplomatic corps would now be hesitant after this incident because they would think that their prime minister would use their words as a political tool.

Thinking that the foreign powers were working to change the regime in Pakistan was a delusional assessment, Khar added.