Indian officials politely turned down the United States’ request regarding the security arrangements for President Barack Obama’s visit to India, saying that Indian security is well-equipped and trained to oversee the US president’s security, said a report published in The Times of India.
US officials provided a list of security demands to their Indian counterparts, which included deploying only US snipers on rooftops all along the Rajpath Boulevard where a Republic Day Parade will take place and President Obama will attend as chief guest. Indian authorities on Monday declined this request and asked US officials “not to interfere”, the report said.
President Obama’s visit to India will begin on January 25 and both India and the US engaged in tackling issues related to security measures.
The US officials also requested for a no-fly-zone on the Rajpath which Indian officials also declined as it would have resulted in the cancellation of the parade’s customary fly-past by the Indian Air Force.
The Indian officials argued that they will have a number of other VVIP’s attending the parade such as Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and various other dignitaries. Hence, Indian officials stationing their own snipers would be imperative, sources told The Times of India.
Soon after accepting Indian invitation to Republic Day celebrations this month, President Obama had phoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to inform him about his decision to visit Delhi.
The prime minister on this occasion had reiterated an invitation to President Obama to visit Pakistan.
“The President (Obama) also assured the Prime Minister (Sharif) that he would undertake a visit to Pakistan at an early date, as soon as the situation normalises in the country,” a Foreign Office statement had said without elaborating if the US president was talking about normalisation of the security situation or the political unrest.
