Pak officials harass guests invited to Indian High Commission's Iftar; India seeks 'urgent' probe

Guests invited to Indian High Commission's Iftar party in Islamabad faced "unprecedented harassment and intimidation" due to enhanced security checks by the Pakistani officials who stopped some invitees on one pretext or other, the Indian mission said here on Sunday, as it strongly protested the "ugly" incident and sought "urgent" investigation into the matter.

Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria hosted the annual event on Saturday at Serena Hotel for which guests were invited from all over Pakistan.

"The guests faced unprecedented harassment and intimidation at the hands of security agencies," the Indian High Commission said in a statement

It said the guests who made to the venue from places as far as Lahore and Karachi were "intimidated and even physically stopped" from attending the party by Pakistani security forces, who had virtually laid the Serena hotel under siege.

"A concerted campaign was launched by Pakistan's security agencies in the days preceding the iftar function to .