Paris extends French ambassador's term in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: France has given an extension to its Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Marc Barety, asking him to serve in Islamabad till an unspecified period.

According to a news report published in The News, diplomatic sources said that the French ambassador, who will be turning 63 mid-next month, completed his three-year tenure in Pakistan last September.

Read more: NA resolution calls for recalling envoy, but Pakistan has no ambassador in France

The sources said that since then, he has been continuing the assignment under the instructions of the French government till a replacement is decided.

Interestingly Pakistan too does not have an ambassador in the French capital since July this year, when Ambassador Moinul Haq was transferred to Beijing as Ambassador to China to replace Ms Naghmana Hashmi on her superannuation.

Sour ties

Islamabad's ties with Paris have been sour ever since Prime Minister Imran Khan criticised French President Emmanuel Macron over his "anti-Islam" remarks.

In October, PM Imran Khan denounced what he called was "encouragement of Islamophobia" by the French president, saying he had chosen to "deliberately provoke" Muslims, including his own citizens.

Read more: PM Imran Khan slams French President Macron, says he 'deliberately provoked' Muslims

In a series of tweets, the prime minister, while presenting examples of the iconic leader Nelson Mandela, had said that this was a time when President Macron could have put the healing touch and denied space to extremists rather than "creating further polarisation and marginalisation that inevitably leads to radicalisation".

Read more: Pakistani students protest against offensive cartoons outside French embassy in London

"It is unfortunate that he has chosen to encourage Islamophobia by attacking Islam rather than the terrorists who carry out violence, be it Muslims, White Supremacists or Nazi ideologists. Sadly, President Macron has chosen to deliberately provoke Muslims, including his own citizens, through encouraging the display of blasphemous cartoons targeting Islam and our Prophet (PBUH), the premier wrote on Twitter.

Large scale protests were also held in Pakistan against the publication of blasphemous caricatures calling for a boycott of French products.