ISLAMABAD: In startling revelation, foreign office disclosed that it was not aware of recent visit of about dozen ambassadors to Swat where they narrowly escaped terrorist attack.

At least one police official part of security squad was martyred when an explosion hit vehicle leading diplomats on way to Malam Jaba earlier this week. All foreign ambassadors, who attended an event organised by chamber of commerce, were unharmed and returned to Islamabad safely. No group claimed responsibility for attack.

However, incident raised serious questions about security arrangements. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government claimed it was not informed about visit of foreign diplomats to region which was once hotbed of terrorism. On Thursday, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was asked series of questions about incident, protocols and role of Foreign Ministry. To utter surprise of many, spokesperson said foreign was not informed about visit. She said Pakistan condemned that incident of September 23 and our security agencies were investigating. “With regards to this particular incident of September 23, this was trip which was organised by Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and not by Ministry of Foreign Affairs or any government institution,” spokesperson revealed. “We have undertaken internal investigation and have come to conclusion that as far as Ministry of Foreign Affairs is concerned, all protocols were followed,” she said. “Some ambassadors individually approached Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informing us of their travel as has been their practice.  We are in process of discussions and internal deliberations on how to rectify what has happened and how to fix this for future,” spokesperson said.

“We are committed to making their stay in Pakistan as comfortable and as secure as possible. In that respect, we encourage foreign diplomats to explore Pakistan and to follow guidelines that have been shared with them on several occasions with regards to their travel to any part of Pakistan,” she stressed.