On Thursday (22nd August), the Pakistani authorities drew the ire of German Minister Svenja Schulze while she was visiting the Prime Minister’s House to meet Shehbaz Sharif.
Schulze, who serves as the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in Germany, was asked by the security personnel deployed at the residence of Sharif to have her handbag checked.
On top of that, she was asked to leave her bag with the security personnel. “It is protocol”, one of the staffers remarked.
Islamabad: Als Entwicklungsministerin Schulze zu ihrem Termin mit Pakistans Premier Sharif eintrifft, verlangen seine Sicherheitsleute, dass sie ihre Handtasche abgibt.
— Andreas Kynast (@andikynast) August 21, 2024
Schulze dreht um und geht zurück in Richtung Auto.
Plötzlich darf die Handtasche mit rein. pic.twitter.com/tFiSBL73qz
A miffed Svenja Schulze confronted them and was about to cancel the meeting altogether.
In a video that had surfaced on social media, the German Minister and other diplomats were seen turning their backs and walking swiftly towards their cars.
“Ok, thank you, bye bye”, a member of Schulze’s team was heard saying. The diplomatic snub made the embarrassed Pakistani security personnel to quickly give in to the demands of the German Minister.
She was allowed to take her bag inside without having it checked. It was only after the resolution of the incident that the meeting between Svenja Schulze and the Pakistani Prime Minister went as per schedule. Senior officials from both sides were part of the meeting.
