KUALA LUMPUR – Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, Syed Ahsan Raza Shah, today dismissed as “preposterous and laughable” an Indian media report alleging that Islamabad had urged Putrajaya to block the visit of an Indian parliamentary delegation to Malaysia, supposedly in the name of “Islamic solidarity”.
Speaking to reporters at the Pakistan High Commission on Jalan Ampang, Syed Ahsan strongly denied any such intervention, branding the claims by Indian broadcaster NDTV as “absolutely false, rubbish and nonsense”.
“It is unthinkable that an embassy would ask its host country not to allow a delegation of another country,” he said.
“As a professional diplomat, as an ambassador, as part of a high commission – how can we have the audacity to do such a thing? The claim is ridiculous and preposterous.”
On June 4, NDTV reported that Pakistan had attempted to persuade Malaysian officials to cancel the Indian delegation’s engagements, claiming it had done so on grounds of Islamic solidarity.
The report alleged that the effort had failed and was viewed as a diplomatic snub to Islamabad.
In response, Syed Ahsan urged journalists to verify the story directly with the Malaysian government and the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.
“I would request you not only to ask the Malaysian government about it – whether it is true – but you may also get in touch with the Indian High Commission and its ambassador. Ask whether he denies or endorses this report,” he said.
The Pakistani envoy took issue not only with the suggestion that Pakistan had tried to interfere, but with the purported reason behind it.
“The naughty part in this news was not just that Pakistan had asked Malaysia to stop the Indian delegation, but that this was supposedly because Pakistan is a Muslim country and Malaysia is a Muslim country – as though Islamic solidarity was a basis to interfere. This is very irresponsible and very condemnable,” he said.
Syed Ahsan also criticised the broader conduct of Indian media during the recent military tensions between the two countries.
“Some of us know what Indian media was reporting during the conflict between May 7 and 10. There were breaking news headlines claiming that Pakistan had been occupied – that Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore were under Indian control. These were completely false and absurd,” he said.
He declined to speculate on the motives behind the NDTV report but noted:
“I will let your imagination decide what would be the reason behind such a claim and why the term ‘Islamic solidarity’ was inserted.”
The controversy follows heightened India-Pakistan tensions after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 civilians. India blamed Pakistan-based militants and launched retaliatory strikes under Operation Sindoor, prompting a four-day military exchange that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.
The Indian parliamentary delegation, led by JDU MP Sanjay Jha, visited Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in a diplomatic outreach effort to rally international condemnation of terrorism and garner support for India's position.
India claimed Pakistan had tried to obstruct these efforts, particularly in Malaysia, but the High Commissioner’s remarks today represent Pakistan’s first official rebuttal to that claim. - June 6, 2025
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