ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign ministry welcomed Oscar-winning Hollywood actress Lupita Nyong’o to the country this week after she shared pictures of herself on social media wearing shalwar kameez, enjoying tea and riding a local bus.
Nyong’o, who was in Pakistan to attend the wedding of a university friend, made headlines in 2014 when she became the first Kenyan actress to win the coveted Oscar award for Best Supporting Actress in the critically acclaimed “12 Years a Slave.” She has gone on to star in big-budget movies such as “Black Panther” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
It is unclear from the actor’s social media posts, or from the foreign office tweet, if she has left Pakistan or is still here.
“Welcome to #Pakistan @Lupita_Nyongo,” the Foreign Minister’s Public Diplomacy account tweeted. “Lupita Nyong’o is an Academy Award-winning actor, awarded for her film debut in 12 Years a Slave,” it added.

The FO also shared a picture of the actress taken from Nyong’o’s Instagram account.
“A Kenyan in Karachi. #MishCaughtFish,” she wrote in the caption, referring to the hashtag associated with the wedding of her friend Misha Japanwala, an acclaimed fashion designer, who got married recently, and with whom the Kenyan actress attended Yale University.

Media speculated that Nyong’o might be in Pakistan last week when pictures of the Hollywood actress attending Japanwala’s wedding events appeared on social media. An old picture showed the two friends with a few others and the caption: “YSD [Yale School of Drama] class of 2012. We’ve stuck together. Very proud of us!”
Nyong’o also shared her experience of enjoying a bus ride in Karachi, wearing the traditional Pakistani shalwar kameez dress and relishing tea.
“Pakistan = Aesthetic Force,” she wrote under photo of herself standing in front of a bus embellished with Pakistani truck art.