ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (NNN-PPI) – The Afghan government, shut down its consulate in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, over the removal of the Afghan national flag by Pakistani authorities, from a marketplace, which the Afghan embassy said belongs to Afghanistan.
The Afghan embassy said, the police in Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, raided the Afghan market Thursday night and removed the flag.
The controversy over the ownership of the market started, after Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled on its ownership, in favour of a Pakistani national, while the Afghan embassy said, the market is the property of Afghanistan since long ago.
As the Pakistani apex court delivered the verdict, the Pakistani authorities started demolishing shops at the market and removed the Afghan national flag.
Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan, Atif Mashal, visited Peshawar and hoisted the Afghan flag.
But the Afghan embassy said, Pakistani authorities again removed the Afghan flag from the market.
A statement from the Afghan embassy said that the embassy shut down the Afghan consulate as a protest.
“We consider the Pakistani police action as violation of the diplomatic norms and good neighbourhood.”
Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Faisal said, the case for legal possession of the Afghan market was between a private Pakistani claimant and Afghanistan’s national bank.
“The Supreme Court has decided in favour of the private claimant. It is purely a legal matter and action has been taken following the court’s order,” the spokesman told a weekly briefing.– NNN-PPI
