German Federal Development Minister Svenja Schulze initially refused to meet Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, after some negotiation, she agreed to attend the meeting.
Schulze and her officials arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence for the meeting. Pakistani officials stopped them for a security check and refused to allow their bags inside. Schulze and her team were unhappy with this and began heading back to their car.
Seeing this, Pakistani officials quickly persuaded Schulze to stay and allowed her to bring the bags into the meeting. A video of this incident has gone viral on social media, with many people criticizing Pakistan for its handling of the situation.
In the viral video, during the security check at the PM House entrance, Schulze was told to leave her bag behind for inspection. She refused and protested, leading the security personnel to say, “This is protocol.” Schulze did not agree and moved towards her car. An officer with her then said, “Okay, thank you,” prompting the security to drop the bag check and allow Schulze to bring her bag into the meeting. She participated in the meeting with her bag present.
Social media users are calling this incident an embarrassment for Pakistan and questioning its hospitality. One user commented that if the meeting had been canceled, Pakistan would have been left empty-handed.
