An old soldier has fired off a complaint to the Pakistan High Commission over allegations that he was assaulted inside the Pakistan Consulate in Bradford.

Hassan Imam Rizvi, 75, of West Bowling, Bradford, claims he was grabbed and assaulted by consulate staff as he tried to collect documents.

But the Consul, Khalad Mahmood, has denied the allegations and says that Mr Rizvi was the aggressor during the disturbance at the consulate in Laisterdyke.

Mr Rizvi, a former officer in the British and Pakistani armies, called the police after the incident which happened as he tried to collect an identification document he had dropped off to ensure a pension was paid to his mother in Pakistan.

He claimed it took place when, after growing impatient at having to wait in the corridor, he and another man in a group of people waiting to be seen, knocked on the door of the hall.

"A member of staff came out and shouted at me, grabbed me and began to shake me. They said they were going to teach me a lesson.

"Then the Consul came out and told the man to pull me into the hall, but the others who had been waiting with me pulled me back."

Mr Rizvi, a diabetic, says the incident so shocked him that he has had difficulty sleeping.

But Mr Mahmood said Mr Rizvi had got the collection times wrong and should not have even been in the building.

"He came after the office was closed to the public," he said. "The fact is my chauffeur opened the door because he kept on knocking on it, and as soon as the door was open Mr Rizvi started speaking loudly and he was very difficult. He dragged my chauffeur, whose finger was badly hurt and bleeding. It was he who called the police, but I should have called them because he was the aggressor."

Mr Mahmood also disputed Mr Rizvi's claim that he was with a group of about 20 people waiting to be seen. He says there was only one or two others in the corridor.

But Mohammed Farid, 53, of Sheffield, one of those waiting to be seen by consulate staff, supported Mr Rizvi's version.

Speaking through a translator, he said: "Where I was standing there was an old man who was pushed over by officials and they kept pushing and pulling him inside and saying they were going to hit him.