The Embassy of the United States of America in Islamabad came under intense criticism on Tuesday after its social media team committed a diplomatic faux pas by retweeting a statement criticising the Pakistani government.

“The U.S. Embassy Islamabad Twitter account was accessed last night without authorization. The U.S. Embassy does not endorse the posting or retweeting of political messages. We apologize for any confusion that may have resulted from the unauthorized post,” it tweeted earlier today.

The episode started with a tweet from Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ahsan Iqbal’s tweet on Tuesday, in which he posted a screenshot of an article by The Washington Post, titled “Trump’s defeat is a blow for the world’s demagogues and dictators”.

“We have one in Pakistan too. He will be shown way out soon,” wrote Iqbal, in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari had strongly condemned the incident.

“US Embassy still working in Trumpian mode in support of convicted absconder & intervening brazenly in our internal politics!” she wrote on Twitter.

In response to the apology, Mazari rejected the explanation, adding that it is “unacceptable” that someone working at the embassy is “pushing a particular political party’s agenda.”

Meanwhile, Azhar Mashwani, who is the focal person on digital for the Punjab chief minister, asked US Secretary of State Mark Pompeo to take notice of the incident.

Dr Arslan Khalid, the premier’s point person on digital media, echoed the sentiments while calling for an explanation.

While most people vehemently censured the US embassy on Twitter, others appealed to the Government of Pakistan to take action and demand that the foreign mission to issue an official apology