Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has been caught breaching diplomatic protocol by sitting down without waiting for his fellow heads of state to arrive at the opening ceremony of a major international summit.

Khan took a seat while the rest of the room stood to welcome heads of state, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, to the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Thursday. A video of the faux pas was shared by the official Twitter handle of his own party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

Prime Minister of #Pakistan@ImranKhanPTI's Arrival with other World Leaders at Invitation of President of Kyrgyzstan for Opening Ceremony 19th Meeting of the Council of the Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan (13.06.19)#SCOSummit2019pic.twitter.com/fYdKYN3Fv7 — PTI (@PTIofficial) June 13, 2019

Khan stood briefly to acknowledge when his name was called out with a slight bow before unceremoniously plopping himself back down on his chair, while the rest of the room stood and applauded as the remainder of the international leaders filed in.

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The incident sparked a flurry of reaction on social media. “He came, he sat, he got up, he sat again,” wrote Twitter user Naila Inayat. “Sheer Arrogance. This was ok on the field. The guy needs to be taught on basic manners and etiquette,” Ranjit Menon said.

He might be having health issues, may be Piles or Itching problem. People should not mock him. — Vikunj (@vsingwal89) June 14, 2019

“Sometimes he makes these silly [and] useless mistakes which his opponents grab as an opportunity to defame him,” tweeter Muneeza Ahmad added.

This latest gaffe comes hot on the heels of another major faux pas by Khan when he met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the 14th Organization of Islamic Cooperation Summit held in Saudi Arabia held earlier in June.

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Khan briefly spoke with the king’s interpreter before walking off without waiting for the message to be fully translated or affording the king an opportunity to respond.

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