Pakistani envoy to India calls for sober reflection

ISLAMABAD: Amid fresh incidents of alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in India and vice versa, Pakistani High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood called for “sober reflection” and a careful handling of the situation.

“This is a moment for sober reflection on the state of the bilateral relationship. It is too important to be allowed to drift. There is a need to handle matters with wisdom and thoughtfulness,” Pakistani High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood told The Hindu in response to a question about the latest incident in Delhi, which led to the Foreign Ministry issuing a demarche to Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh on Wednesday.

According to a message, the protest came after Pakistani High Commission released a video taken by one of Pakistani embassy officials that appeared to show their diplomatic car being tailed by men on motorcycles while a car in front blocked their way.

The video showed men wearing helmets, riding the motorcycles very close to the embassy vehicle, and also intimidating other drivers on the road in South Delhi. According to Pakistani diplomats, the incident occurred on Tuesday and was the 23rd such incident in the past two weeks.

“While heavy surveillance of diplomats has always been a cause for concern, the scale, intensity and frequency of the harassment of embassy vehicles, personnel and families in the last few weeks is very worrying,” said a diplomatic source.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) did not respond to requests for a reaction to the latest allegations by Pakistan.