Red Fort With Indian Flag Part of Pakistan Tableau in SCO Event

Beijing: An event organised by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation to highlight India and Pakistan's entry into SCO turned out to be a major embarrassment for the organisers after India's Red Fort was shown as Lahore's Shalimar Gardens in a Pakistani tableau. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Indian envoy to China Vijay Gokhale along with the ambassadors of Pakistan Masood Khalid and other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members attended the function at the SCO headquarters is Beijing, PTI repported.

Both Indian and Pakistani diplomats pointed out the faux pas to the organisers. 

SCO officials were apologetic about the gaffe, saying that they failed to cross check the photos on display as this was the first event involving India and Pakistan. 

On Friday, the SCO headquarters will raise the flags of India and Pakistan and Gokhale and Khalid will beat a drum, heralding the entry of their countries into the organisation. 

India and Pakistan were admitted as members of the six-member grouping at the Astana Summit last week. 

The group is now comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia have an observer status in the grouping that is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO.