At SCO opening ceremony, Imran Khan slipped up again on diplomatic protocol
The video was widely circulated on social media and Khan was criticized, both by his countrymen and Saudi Arabia for apparently disrespecting the king.
world Updated: Jun 14, 2019 15:48 ISTPrime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan yet again broke the diplomatic protocol, this time at the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit held in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek on Thursday.
In a video shared on the official Twitter handle of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Khan is seen seating while everyone else stood to welcome the head of states entering the hall. Upon realizing that he was perhaps the only one seated, he stood briefly and then seated himself again before the others did.
Khan earlier broke the diplomatic protocol at the 14th OIC summit held in Saudi Arabia earlier this month.
Watch| Imran Khan breaks diplomatic protocol, welcomes world leaders while sitting
During a meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the sidelines of the summit, Khan spoke to Salman’s interpreter and walked off before the message could be translated to the king. The video was widely circulated on social media and Khan was criticized, both by his countrymen and Saudi Arabia for apparently disrespecting the king.
Khan and the leaders of the SCO member countries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are attending the two-day summit in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek.
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
First Published: Jun 14, 2019 13:34 IST