Outgoing Afghan Ambassador to Kazakhstan Mohammad Farooq Baraki has been detained at the Astana airport for a few hours because of a bad joke, the press service of the Astana airport said.
At the airport, when Baraki was asked by authorities what was in his bag, he replied: "It is a bomb."
Shortly after the assertion, the entrances of the airport were closed and nearly 100 commando forces were deployed at the area to detain the man, 1tvnews reported
The Ambassador was released three hours later.
Barakai in a statement on social media blamed the airport workers for the controversy. He said that the security worker of the airport kept asking about the bag despite replies by his assistant that it carried clothes. He said that he humorously told the airport worker that the bag carried bomb.
The security head of the airport apologized for the inconvenience.
