Timeline of major attacks on Pakistani embassies abroad

LAHORE: As it has been the case with most countries since February 11, 1829 when a Russian mission in Iran was the first one to be attacked in world history, Pakistani embassies have also been stormed in Tehran, Tripoli, Kabul, New Delhi, Dhaka and Colombo during the last 20 years.

The attack on the Pakistani mission in Afghanistan on Wednesday is the latest of the numerous offensives launched against Pakistani missions in this war-ravaged nation though. Here follows the timeline of some of the major attacks on Pakistani embassies abroad:

On September 6, 1995, the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul was attacked by about 5,000 protestors, who had gone up to the extent of ransacking the premises. While one person was killed, 26, including the Pakistani ambassador, were injured in this incident.

General Kamal Matinuddin of the Pakistan army and a former member of Pakistan's diplomatic corps had alleged that the Afghan government had facilitated the attack in retaliation for the capture of Herat, because they felt the Taliban could have only done so with help from Islamabad.

On July 9, 2003, the Pakistan Embassy in Kabul was again targeted.  The infuriated protesters had shattered windows, broken down the embassy doors and had set the Pakistani flag ablaze.

Pakistani High Commissioner, Rustam Mohmand, had blamed the Afghan government responsible for the inability of the local police and their flawed security for the embassy. He had demanded compensation from Afghan government and had announced the embassy would remain closed.

Following the incident, Afghan President Hamid Karzai had officially apologised for the rampage.

In 2006, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka was attacked in the city of Colombo. High Commissioner, Bashir Wali Muhammad, was attacked by a claymore anti-personnel mine concealed within an auto rickshaw.

Although the High Commissioner had escaped unhurt, seven people (including four Army commandoes) were killed in the blast. Islamabad had blamed India for the attack, saying New Delhi wanted to intimidate Pakistan, which was one of the main suppliers of military equipment to the Sri Lankan government.

However, the Sri Lankan government had accused the warring Tamil Tigers. A Sri Lankan military spokesman had said, "Definitely the attack on Pakistani envoy’s car was orchestrated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but they missed and the backup vehicle got caught." 

In 2009, the Pakistani Embassy in Tehran was overrun by the Iranian protesters, who had pelted stones at the facility after learning that a worker at the Iranian consulate in Peshawar was killed.

On May 11, 2010, the Pakistan Ambassador to Iran had survived an assassination attempt in Tehran, after a 21-year-old Afghan citizen had attack on the envoy after a heated debate.

Ambassador Mohammad Bux Abbasi was injured and two of his guards were resultantly killed.

The High Commissioner’s car was badly damaged too According to the Iranian news media, the attacker was arrested by the Tehran police.

On June 29, 2013, Pakistani embassy in the Libyan city of Tripoli was attacked with a hand grenade.

According to a local media house “The Libya Herald,” the Pakistani embassy in Tripoli was targeted by what was thought to be hand grenade, which had exploded outside the main entrance. 

This is what the Pakistani Ambassador, Mohammed Ayaz Hussain, had told the Libya Herald: “Around 1 am, somebody had hurled a hand grenade towards the main gate. The device had hit and damaged the gates but did not fall inside the compound. There has been no damage other than that and no human or material losses took place. This is the first time such a blast has happened here.”

On August 7, 2013, Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi was attacked by members of the Congress Part youth wing.

The attack was motivated by the news of the death of five Indian Army soldiers at the Line of Control.

The protesters had reportedly turned violent as they pushed back the police barricades and entered into a scuffle with the security personnel on duty. The New Delhi Police had resorted to using water cannons to disperse the protestors. Around 175 people were detained, but later let off. 

On December 19, 2013, Pakistani embassy in Dhaka was sieged by hundreds of furious protestors, who had cut barbed barricades at the entrance gates. They had demanded of their government to cut off its diplomatic ties with Pakistan.

The incident took place after the Pakistan Parliament had passed a resolution condemning the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh Secretary General, Abdul Qadir Molla, who was hanged on December 12, 2013. 

Bangladesh had summoned Pakistan's High Commissioner in Dhaka to lodge its protest over the resolution adopted by the National Assembly in Islamabad.

Pakistan had strongly condemned the storming of Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka and the incidents of burning of Pakistan's flags in various Bangladeshi cities.