ISLAMABAD: German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas was challenged by a pro-Palestine protester on Saturday shortly after he began his speech on safeguarding civil rights in South Asia at a high-profile conference held in the eastern city of Lahore.
Germany has clearly sided with Israel since the beginning of the war in Gaza after a surprise attack was launched by Hamas on Oct. 7 as a response to the deteriorating Palestinian condition living under Israeli occupation.
The conflict, which has led to the killing of over 34,000 Palestinians, has led to widespread criticism of the Israeli government, leading to protests in different parts of the world.
While countries like South Africa have accused the Jewish state of committing genocide in Gaza, authorities in Germany have forcibly removed protest encampments and gone into people’s houses to arrest them for critical social media posts on charges of antisemitism.
“I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians,” the young protester standing at the back of the hall shouted at him.
Many people around him supported him by shouting “Free, Free Palestine” and “From the River to the Sea.”
The German envoy, who looked visibly agitated by the development, responded by shouting back and pointing to the exit.
“If you, if you want to shout, go out,” he said. “There you can shout. Because shouting is not a discussion.”
The incident happened at the Asma Jahangir Conference that focuses on dialogue and advocacy for human rights issues in Pakistan and its broader neighborhood.
Last year in November, a Pakistani classical dancer and human rights activist Sheema Kermani raised slogans for a ceasefire at a British Deputy High Commission event in Karachi and later complained of being “escorted out.”

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to establish a special force for the security of foreigners, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday, days after militant attacks targeted foreign nationals in the South Asian country.

The decision was made at a meeting presided over by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to review the law-and-order situation in the federal capital territory.

The development came days after a suicide attack targeted a van carrying Japanese nationals, who were on their way to work in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

During the meeting, the interior minister directed authorities to ensure foolproof security of foreign nationals in Islamabad, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.

“Special attention should be given to the security of all important offices and places including the red zone in Islamabad,” the report read.

During the meeting, Islamabad police chief, Ali Nasir Rizvi, also gave a detailed briefing on the law-and-order situation in the capital.

Pakistan has witnessed militant attacks on foreign nationals in recent months, particularly the Chinese working in Pakistan on projects relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major segment of Beijing’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Late last month, five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver were killed in northwest Pakistan, when a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into the bus carrying them to Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan, where they worked.

The attack came less than a week after Pakistani security forces killed eight Balochistan Liberation Army separatists who opened fire on a convoy carrying Chinese citizens outside the Chinese-funded Gwadar port in the volatile southwestern Balochistan province.