Pakistan’s defense minister claims Afghans are ‘ungrateful’ following Frankfurt incident

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khwaja Asif said Monday Islamabad needs to rethink its stance of extending hospitality to the people from Afghanistan – claiming they are ungrateful.

“You see how thankless these people are. We fought a war with them. We fought a war for them. We became a US ally and fought a war with Russia, we fought the Soviet Union,” Asif said.

“There’s a limit to hospitality. They swore at us, They swore at Pakistan. They talk against the integrity of Pakistan. They carry out proper rallies [against Pakistan]. They burn our flags,” he said.

“I think Pakistan needs to rethink their hospitality,” he said.

This comes after Pakistan lodged a complaint with the German government over its failure to prevent protesters, reportedly from Afghanistan, from getting into the grounds of the Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt on Saturday.

In a strongly worded statement, Pakistan’s foreign ministry slammed Germany for its failure to protect Pakistan’s consular premises in Frankfurt.

A statement issued by the ministry on Sunday said: “In yesterday’s incident, the security of Pakistan’s consulate in Frankfurt was breached, endangering the lives of its consular staff.

The ministry reminded the German government that “under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963 it is the responsibility of the host government to protect the sanctity of the consular premises and ensure the security of diplomats.”

“We are conveying our strong protest to the German government,” it added, urging Berlin to take “immediate measures” to ensure the security of Pakistani diplomatic missions and staff in the country.

It was unclear what prompted the demonstrators to hold Saturday’s protest outside the building.

Pakistan has not however identified those involved in the protest but some of the demonstrators were carrying the tricolor flags of Afghanistan, Associated Press reported.

Videos circulating on social media showed a protester taking down the Pakistani flag.

Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar, said on X that Pakistan has urged Germany to take immediate measures to arrest and prosecute those involved in the incident.

Frankfurt police said several men who had taken part in a demonstration clambered over the fence of the Pakistani consulate in the city on Saturday and took a flag.

According to a police statement, about 400 people were demonstrating outside the consulate on Saturday afternoon when about five to 10 people climbed into the consulate grounds before melting back into the crowd.

Frankfurt Police said an investigation was underway, and officers were in contact with the Pakistani consulate.

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