Daily Times

A diplomatic row has erupted between Islamabad and Tehran after Iran refused to accept the credentials of Pakistan’s ambassador designate to Iran, Riffat Masood.

Ambassador designate Masood, a career diplomat of Pakistan’s foreign service, was scheduled to present her credentials to Iranian President Hasan Rouhani on Tuesday, but a message was conveyed to the Ambassador office from Iranian foreign ministry about the cancellation of the ceremony over a procedural mistake.

Diplomatic sources told Daily Times that Ambassador Masood’s credentials as Pakistan’s Ambassador to Iran were signed by former President Mamnoon Hussain before the expiry of his tenure as President of Pakistan on 9th September 2018.

“Credentials signed by former President of Pakistan are not accepted and it must be signed by the serving President of Pakistan,” the Iranian foreign minister conveyed to Pakistani embassy in Tehran through a diplomatic note later.

The Pakistan embassy immediately informed Islamabad about the development, which then prepared fresh credentials to be sent to President Arif Alvi later this week for his signatures. The procedure may take several weeks. “Iranian government is unhappy over the kidnapping of 10 Iranian border guards by unknown terrorists along Pakistan-Iran border in the outskirts of Mirjavaah,” a Pakistani diplomatic source at Pakistani Embassy in Tehran said.

The diplomatic source observed that had the procedural mistake been the reason behind cancellation of meeting between Pakistani ambassador-designate and the Iranian President, the Iranian foreign ministry could have raised the objection earlier, since it had received the credentials almost two months ago.

When contacted, a spokesman for Pakistan Embassy in Tehran confirmed that scheduled meeting between Pakistani ambassador-designate and Iranian president Hasan Rouhani was cancelled. “Pakistani Ambassador’s credentials to be presented to the Iranian President were signed by former President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, which became the reason of the cancellation of the meeting,” Birj Lal Dosani, spokesperson for Pakistan Embassy in Tehran, said. However, he also confirmed that on Tuesday evening, Pakistan’s deputy head of the mission, Imran Haider, was summoned at the Iranian foreign ministry where he was conveyed concern over the kidnapping incident. A demarche was also made to Pakistan for quick action against those involved in the kidnapped.

Iran’s spy officers among 14 security personnel kidnapped on Pakistan border —A5

Published in Daily Times, October 17^th 2018.