Consular services in Dubai suspended due to FM’s visit

DUBAI: The consular services at the Pakistan Consulate Dubai on Thursday were suspended due to Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s visit to the diplomatic mission.

A senior diplomat of the Pakistan Consulate Dubai confirmed the suspension of consular services, adding that the services were restored after the visit of the foreign minister. He said the suspension was only for around 45 minutes.

When Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi arrived at the Pakistan Consulate, the doors of the diplomatic mission were closed to the public.

On the other hand, Qureshi wanted to share Pakistan’s position before the international media but he was told that it was difficult to invite the media during the pandemic. His interviews were scheduled for international media but were abruptly canceled under the pretext of the "corona pandemic and its SOPs”. Interestingly, international conferences and exhibitions are being successfully held in Dubai under the SOPs of COVID-19. The senior assistant editor of the UAE's most reputable newspaper, Gulf News, also tweeted about the situation, raising the question before diplomatic officials as to who was responsible for keeping Qureshi out of the media reach during the important visit. On the last day of the visit, the press conference of the foreign minister was arranged in Abu Dhabi that is two hour away from Dubai. The media was given a short notice of almost two hours to reach Abu Dhabi from Dubai, which was by no means possible.

Currently, the corona negative report is required for travellers to enter Abu Dhabi from Dubai and it takes time to get tested. However, the foreign ministry’s press officials said the press gathering had not been arranged due to the corona pandemic and its SOPs and the rapidly changing sensitive situation.