Short-fused diplomacy: Pakistani Minister calls US envoy a ‘Little Pygmy’ over jab at PM Khan

Pakistan’s Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari roasted US diplomat John Bass on Twitter over his less than diplomatic comments about Pakistani PM Imran Khan, calling him ‘ignorant’ and a ‘pygmy.’

While diplomats generally attempt to facilitate positive and productive communication between countries, occasionally they can’t help themselves from throwing a little shade at their political rivals. Some seemed to feel US diplomat to Afghanistan John Bass crossed this line when he implied Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s skills as a former cricket player didn’t transfer well to international relations.

Mazari was particularly incensed, firing back with a torrent of insults that both encapsulated her rage over the US’ hypocritical relationship with Afghanistan, and called out the American official for pretending to understand cricket.

While the comment was rather sharp, the firebrand minister shows no signs of backing down… in fact, she has doubled down on the comments, retweeting several people who agreed with her sentiments and offering further commentary.

The flame war began when Imran Khan made comments on March 25th advocating for an interim government to facilitate peace-talks in war-torn Afghanistan, which deeply offended the US-friendly administration in Kabul. In response, the country pulled their ambassador to Pakistan, and Bass tweeted his rather disrespectful dig at the Prime Minister.

Pakistan is a long time player in the conflict in Afghanistan, including being a major supporter of the Taliban in its two-decade long struggle with the Afghan government. Since the beginning of the year, US president Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hardline stance toward Pakistan, tending to side with their rival India as tensions ratchet up between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Like this story? Share it with a friend!