Dispelling the impression that a diplomat posted in Pakistani embassy in Brussels has been sacked for ‘damaging the country’s reputation’, Foreign Office Tuesday said that the official has completed his term in Belgium.
Police department in Belgium circulated a photograph of Pakistani amateur cricket player Assim Abassi, son of the diplomat posted in Brussels, apparently armed with a weapon last week.
Publication of the photo in a local newspaper reportedly generated terror scare, with the newspaper headline describing as “anti-Semitic killer”, the daily Telegraph reported.
However, reports said, Abassi contacted the police to clarify that he was not armed but only carrying his cricket bat on way to a practice session. He said he wrapped his bat in his sweatshirt to save it from rainwater.
It was reported that the Pakistan embassy in Brussels sacked Tuffail Abassi, a diplomat, for “damaging Pakistan’s reputation” and decided to send his seven-member family back home.
Abassi said that his family members got a call from the embassy to submit their passports. “We’ve lost the privilege of living in Belgium. I’ve lost my education. I’ve lost everything,” he said, deploring the embassy’s decision.
Later, commenting on the issue, Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson denying the news reports said that Tufail Abbasi was not sacked. ‘Tuffail Abbasi has completed his term as a diplomat abroad and now he has to return home to continue his responsibilities,’ she said.
The spokesperson further stated that Pakistani embassy in Brussels said that they have provided all legal assistance to Assim Abbasi.
