The visit was reportedly called off owing to Pakistan’s policy towards standoff between Russia and Ukraine, reports Asian Lite News
The UK government has unilaterally called off the visit of Pakistan National Security Adviser (NSA) Moeed Yusuf without assigning any reason, The News reported.
According to the report, the NSA was scheduled to visit the UK next week.
Citing sources, The News said that the visit was called off owing to Pakistan’s policy towards standoff between Russia and Ukraine.
The European Union (EU) ambassadors in Islamabad issued a rejoinder to the policy through a joint press statement.
Pakistan expressed its dismay over the statement terming it undiplomatic and unacceptable.
Asim Iftikhar, spokesman for the Foreign Office in his media interaction on Friday made it clear that Pakistan had taken note of joint statement issued by a group of EU envoys posted in Islamabad.
“We expressed concern over the statement because as I said that is not the way diplomacy should be practised, and I think they have realised,” he said
The spokesman said that since February 24 when the crisis brewed up, there had been various engagements at different levels with ambassadors at the Foreign Office at the level of the Foreign Secretary, Additional Secretaries, Director Generals and others.
He said that the Foreign Secretary was having meetings with some ambassadors as well andnd this was the normal way of diplomatic activities.
Iftikhar added that Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also reaching out to his counterparts.
He spoke to the Hungarian Foreign Minister and would talk to other counterparts in the coming days.
ALSO READ: UK vows quicker sanctions against Russian oligarchs
