German Ambassador's Address in Pakistan Disrupted by Pro-Palestine Demonstration

German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas speech was interrupted on here Saturday by a pro-Palestine protester, who asked why he was speaking on civil rights when his own country is violating it.Ambassador Alfred Grannas was speaking at the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference titled Peoples Mandate Safeguarding Civil Rights in South Asia at a local hotel here in the capital city of Pakistans Punjab province.Moments after the ambassador began his speech, a young man rose from his seat and started shouting Excuse me, Mr Ambassador.

German Ambassador to Pakistan Alfred Grannas' speech was interrupted on here Saturday by a pro-Palestine protester, who asked why he was speaking on civil rights when his own country is violating it.

Ambassador Alfred Grannas was speaking at the 5th Asma Jahangir Conference titled 'People's Mandate: Safeguarding Civil Rights in South Asia' at a local hotel here in the capital city of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Moments after the ambassador began his speech, a young man rose from his seat and started shouting: "Excuse me, Mr Ambassador. I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians." His comments drew cheer from the other participants with chants of "Free, Free Palestine," with many of them rising from their seats in support of the pro-Palestine protester.

As the protester was shouting, the ambassador appeared to be losing his temper as he said, "If you want to shout, go out, there you can shout. Because shouting is not a discussion." Live streaming of Grannas' speech was suspended till the organisers managed to take the young man out of the hall.

The protester was later identified as a varsity student belonging to the Progressive Students' Collective (PSC) and was accompanied by some other students from the same organisation.

The PSC soon after posted on its official X handle: "PSC exposed the hypocrisy of German Ambassador questioning him on the role of Germany in Palestinian Genocide. The organizers of AJ Conf forcefully silenced the voices of students while platforming the facilitators of Pal Gen. #Ajconference #FreePalestine #germanambassador" The first edition of the Asma Jahangir Conference was held in 2018, following the death of renowned lawyer and human rights champion Asma Jahangir.

When reached out for comment by Geo.tv regarding the envoy's mic being muted, Munizae Jahangir — journalist and board member of the Asma Jahangir Foundation, clarified: "German ambassador mic was not muted at all, we don't have that technology or above all, the intention." She also maintained that the conference had arranged a "full panel on Palestine" and with great difficulty got a noted human rights activist recognised as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, Geo News reported.

Germany as part of G7 and also as a prominent EU member has been supportive of Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict which has taken a huge toll on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The latest Israel-Hamas war started on October 7, 2023, when the Hamas militant group carried out an unprecedented attack by air, sea and land on Israel that killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel's response since then in Gaza has not just killed more than 34,000 people but also caused widespread devastation.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)