ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office on Friday confirmed that a Pakistani athlete was last week reported missing in Hungary, where he went to participate in the 19th FINA World Aquatics Championships.
Faizan Akbar, a 22-year-old professional swimmer, has won four gold medals in national events. He went to Hungary to participate in the 19th edition of the FINA World Aquatics Championships, being held in Budapest from June 17 to July 3.
Akbar was to feature in the 100-meter backstroke event on June 19, but he did not show up.
“Our mission in Budapest has informed that Hungarian authorities have informed them about the missing Pakistani athlete,” foreign office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed told Arab News after a weekly press briefing on Friday.
The picture shows missing Pakistani athlete Faizan Akbar. (Photo courtesy: FINA website)
He said neither the Pakistan Swimming Federation nor the organizers of the competition in Hungary had informed the Pakistani mission about the participation of the South Asian country’s athletes in the event.
“The mission is in touch with Hungarian authorities on the issue,” Ahmed added.
Speaking at the weekly media briefing earlier, Ahmed said Islamabad on Thursday summoned Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan Wendy Gilmour to protest remarks made in Canadian parliament about the Pakistan army chief.
The remarks were made by Tom Kmiec, a member of Conservative Party, in which he accused Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa of interfering in Pakistan’s politics.
“The Canadian high commissioner to Pakistan was summoned on Thursday and demarched to protest the remarks made in Canadian parliament,” Ahmed said.
“Pakistan takes serious exception to the baseless and unsubstantiated remarks made by the member in the Canadian parliament.”
The foreign office spokesperson said Pakistan and Canada had a multifaceted relationship and Islamabad wished to deepen ties based on mutual respect and trust. “Such incidents are not helpful in that context,” he added.
