India-Pakistan Diplomacy and Attire
As a former professional diplomat, I know the importance of knowing the sensitivities of foreign cultures and avoiding their taboos. That is a lesson that professional diplomats learn very early in their careers. Never though through my working life did I ever hear of an envoy’s moustache, or a beard for that matter, becoming controversial, capable of causing or adding to bilateral tensions.
So, naturally, the news of the Harris moustache caught my attention and made me think of other instances when personal apparel or head gear became politically and diplomatically significant.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hosted the official banquet for his Indian guest at a historic setting—the Diwan-e-Khas of the Lahore fort. Vajpayee and senior members of the delegation including External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh were naturally at the main table in the…