French National Day marked

French Ambassador Martine Dorance welcomed hundreds of guests to a dinner reception at Islamabad Serena Hotel to celebrate the Bastille Day, the country’s national day, on July 14.

But neither the ambassador nor chief guests Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Minister for Law Zahid Hamid or any of the guests could imagine that the festive evening would end in a gruesome tragedy in Nice, France.

The general manager of Serena Hotel, Michel Galopin, a Frenchman himself, and his wife Michele Louise were just back from summer holidays in their hometown of Nice having strolled on the main seafront boulevard, Promenade des Anglais, less than a week earlier. That was where the celebrations were turned into an inferno of killings on the national day. “There are no words that can describe or comfort the murders of innocent people. Our prayers are with the victims, their families and friends,” said Mr Galopin.

The ministry’s book of condolence was opened after the tragedy which was signed by hundreds of diplomats, Pakistani government representatives and individuals.

“We were very grateful for sympathy shown from Pakistanis. In Pakistan, people have seen many terrorist attacks over the years but they still show deep empathy when tragedies happen abroad. It helps us in our shock and sorrow,” said a French diplomat.

Anniversary of Egyptian Revolution

The Egyptian embassy in Islamabad marked the country’s 64th anniversary of Revolution Day on July 23, the Arab country’s biggest secular holiday.

Ambassador Sherif Shaheen, his wife and civilian and military staff members welcomed a few hundred guests at a reception at the Sheesh Mahal Hall of Serena Hotel.

Among the prominent guests were Punjab Governor Malik Mohammad Rafique Rajwana and Raza Zafarul Haque, a former Pakistani ambassador to Egypt. The event followed all the protocol and traditions for such occasions but there were no speeches.

“I missed the speeches because it makes the national day events more formal and different from other gatherings,” said a local guest who attends most of the diplomatic events in the capital. But she added that the cake-cutting ceremony and the playing of the two countries’ national anthems were elegant programme items before the dinner was served.

“I liked the beautiful Egyptian national anthem,” said a foreign diplomat.

Though it was in the middle of the summer, and one could have expected guests to be in a holiday mood, many of the diplomats and locals focused on the recent tragic terrorist attack in France. And then American presidential elections and party conventions were also among the favourite topics.

“We all hope that the Kashmir issue can be solved in the near future,” said a foreign diplomat, remarking on the just concluded elections in Azad Kashmir.

—Text and photo by Atle Hetland & Shahbaz Chaudhry

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2016