Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that Pakistan had lodged a complaint with the German government in the wake of yesterday’s attack by a “gang of extremists” on the Pakistani Consulate in Frankfurt. His post on X (formerly Twitter) said the German government was urged to fulfill its responsibilities under the Vienna Conventions and ensure the security of the diplomatic missions and staff of Pakistan.

According to DW, a group of over 400 individuals participated in a protest outside the consulate on Saturday while flying flags of pre-Taliban Afghanistan. The purpose of the protest was to draw attention to grievances lodged against Pakistan’s intelligence and military agencies, whom the organizers claimed were assassinating political opponents and dissidents.

Pakistani officials also confirmed to Voice of America that the attack was “a serious security lapse on the part of the German side.” They said German authorities did not inform the consulate staff about the upcoming protest or increase security for the diplomatic facility as per the “standard operating procedures.”

The Pakistani Embassy in Berlin reiterated Germany’s obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by denouncing the “reprehensible vandalising act” on X (formerly Twitter). The embassy stated that it was in communication with the local authorities to ensure that the vandalism incident would not happen again and that the perpetrators were held accountable.

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 Article 27(1)(a) states “the receiving State shall, even in case of armed conflict, respect and protect the consular premises, together with the property of the consular post and the consular archives.”

The rights and protections of diplomatic missions are also outlined in the Geneva Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961 Article 22(2), which gives ambassadors the freedom to carry out their duties without interference or fear of retaliation from the host country.

The incident added to the already tense ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan as Pakistan is still hosting millions of Afghan refugees who have fled the unrest in their homeland. More than 3 million Afghan refugees are currently living in Pakistan, where a deportation campaign had just started to remove individuals who were staying without proper documentation. However, Islamabad extended the stay of officially registered Afghan refugees by a year earlier this month.