Diplomacy is one of the oldest forms of civil service. Though the French have contributed a considerable bit to diplomatic procedure, certain protocols and conventions of diplomacy had started much earlier. The dont-shoot-the-messenger rule had started as a necessary reciprocal safety-valve for some of the more unsavory phases in international relations. States are not above harassing the employees of other states. The evolution of such conventions led to the Vienna Convention itself in 1961. That, at least, is the theory. That might make for some anomalies, like foreigners violating local laws and getting away with it, at least in the country where the crime was committed. But the Vienna Convention was signed by states that thought this was not too heavy a price to be paid for a smooth functioning of international diplomacy.
Who qualifies as a diplomat, however, is a contentious question that has reared its head in the aftermath of the Raymond Davis case. The fact of the matter remains that a number of countries, Pakistan included, send members of its intelligence agencies over to other countries on diplomatic assignments. Pakistan, India or the rest, however, do not take this to another level, with trained musclemen roaming the streets of host countries.
In order to ensure that there are no other instances of the like, it is imperative, as the intelligence agencies are now demanding, to revert back to the older system of vetting the visas of diplomatic corps. The soft visa policy, which leads to an extremely prompt issue of visas as opposed to the previous processing period of several weeks, has got to be reviewed. There needs to be a proper system of verification and documentation of these individuals so as to ensure that by following the Vienna Convention, states are not actively facilitating other states covert and illegal activities. The free-for-all has got to end.
