Dendias welcomes new Pakistani Ambassador days after terror plot on Jewish centre was publicly exposed

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias welcomed the new Pakistani ambassador to Greece only days after a terror plot on a Jewish restaurant-synagogue in Athens was exposed to the public.

“I met today at with new Pakistan Ambassador, Muhammad Aamar Aftab Qureshi, to discuss Greece-Pakistan relations. I wished him, also, a successful tenure in Greece,” Greece’s top diplomat wrote on Twitter.

I met today at @GreeceMFA with new #Pakistan Ambassador, Muhammad Aamar Aftab Qureshi to discuss 🇬🇷-🇵🇰 relations. I wished him, also, a successful tenure in Greece. pic.twitter.com/drJguU0i3D

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) March 30, 2023

Meanwhile, Greek authorities said police are still continuing searches in Athens and other parts of the country following the arrest of two Pakistani suspects accused of planning an attack at Jewish centre in the Psirri neighbourhood of the Greek capital.

The two Pakistanis, identified as Haydar and Hussein, were charged Tuesday with terrorism offenses, while a third man believed to be in Iran was charged in absentia. Haydar and Hussein have been living in Greece illegally for around five years, working mostly in the agricultural sector.

There is believed to be at least 50,000 Pakistanis illegally living in Greece, most of which have loyalties to Turkey and/or jihadi tendencies.

Pakistan is in the “Three Brothers” nexus, alongside Turkey and Azerbaijan. The three countries in early 2021 swore to defend their respective interests in Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Jammu and Kashmir.

This makes the publication of Dendias’ welcome of the new Pakistani ambassador to Greece all the distasteful.

Meanwhile, Rabbi Mendel Hendel, who runs the Chabad Jewish centre in Psirri, said he learned about the planned attack on the news.

“Thank God we are safe. We’re grateful that this act of terrorism was prevented,” Hendel said in a statement with his wife Nechama e-mailed to the Associated Press. “We would like to publicly thank the Greek authorities.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late Tuesday said his country’s intelligence agency Mossad helped Greece prevent the terrorist attack. A statement from his office maintained the attackers were linked to Iran.