Who paid the bill for the Islamabad talks in the Serena Hotel is the trending joke on Pakistani social media. It’s about whether the luxury Serena Hotel paid the bill to host delegations from Iran and the US during the talks over the weekend in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s online news portal Bloom has a statement from the management of the hotel, which says clearly that “His Highness graciously offered the Government of Pakistan the visiting delegations lodging and boarding for peace talks complementary, which they accepted.”
His Highness, meaning the Aga Khan himself, who owns the Serena Hotel. But when Bloom approached the Aga Khan Development Network that owns the Serena, among other properties, it got a different response:
“The Aga Khan Network did not cover the expenses related to the talks held at the Serena hotel in Islamabad, which was requisitioned by the authorities for the purposes of the meeting.”
So it seems the Serena Hotel did pay the bill and did not pay the bill. For the record, according to Gulf News, the actual bill is not known, but the cost of a standard room is about $160 (nearly 15,000 INR) while the presidential suite is priced at $2,375 per night (Over 2 lakhs INR).
The kerfuffle over the bill went viral on social media, with some suggesting that Pakistan approach the IMF for a loan to pay the bill. Others coined the term “Complementary Diplomacy”, which it was speculated could play out when the second round of talks between the US and Iran is held, as some reports claim.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves amount to around $16 billion, enough for a couple of months’ imports, and may partly explain the government’s scramble for fresh sources of financing.
