'Senseless': Pakistan's Qureshi slammed for using umbrella-bearer during Lavrov's visit

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on April 11 reacted to the criticism he received for using an umbrella-bearer while meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Qureshi said that he was “amazed” by learning that people were talking about his umbrella and not the success that his meet with Lavrov was. Further, as a reporter questioned Pakistan FM saying that the video showing Qureshi walking with an umbrella-bearer went viral in India, he replied by floating another argument, “did India want Russia’s visit to Pakistan?"

Qureshi’s remarks came after Lavrov visited Pakistan last week, a day after the Russian Foreign Minister visited India and met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday. While responding to reporters on April 11, Qureshi said it is a matter to give deep thought. Even though there was no basis for the reporters’ claims, Pakistan FM added, “did India want this visit to happen?’ while referring to Lavrov’s Pak visit. 

Netizens slam 'senseless' Qureshi

The images where Qureshi was accompanied by an umbrella bearer, went viral on social media and users slammed Pakistan's Foreign Minister. "FM Qureshi has caused irreparable damage to Pakistan's geostrategic interests by not holding his umbrella. What a travesty !!!", wrote one of the users. Another wrote, "Why Shah Sb cannot hold his own Umbrella when guest is holding his own That also shows senseless of Qureshi SB". 

Jaishankar Reaffirms Ties With Russia

On the other hand, during Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Russian counterpart assessed the economic cooperation between New Delhi and Moscow, where the duo reaffirmed the 'energetic and forward-looking' cooperation between the two nations. Jaishankar said, “Our bilateral cooperation remains energetic and forward-looking. We talked about the longstanding partnership in the nuclear space and defence sectors.”

“We assess positively our economic cooperation noting new opportunities in the Russian far east. We spoke of connectivity including the International North-South Transport Corridor and Chennai-Vladivostok Maritime Corridor," EAM said.

"We also found an appetite for greater investment in each other by both the countries. Russian support for our Gaganyaan programme has progressed for which deeply appreciate. Our defence requirement in the past year was expeditiously addressed," he added. 

Image Credit: AP/@SMQureshiPTI/Twitter