Pakistan- India relations
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"Indian High Commission in Pakistan is facing many issues. We've reached out through established diplomatic channels to Islamabad. We want that our Commission in Islamabad functions smoothly, the officials are not harassed, their work is not obstructed and that the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations, 1961 is abided by," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a press briefing. | "Indian High Commission in Pakistan is facing many issues. We've reached out through established diplomatic channels to Islamabad. We want that our Commission in Islamabad functions smoothly, the officials are not harassed, their work is not obstructed and that the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations, 1961 is abided by," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a press briefing. | ||
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| + | =Joint undertakings= | ||
| + | ==2018: India, Pak to be in multilateral military drill together== | ||
| + | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2018%2F04%2F30&entity=Ar01107&sk=C7B948FE&mode=text April 30, 2018: ''The Times of India''] | ||
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| + | Indian and Pakistani combat troops, who are locked in a volatile confrontation with daily firing duels along the Line of Control in J&K, will for the first time exercise together as part of a multi-nation counter-terror war game under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Russia in August. | ||
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| + | The exercise ‘Peace Mission-2018’, which will also see the participation of China and other SCO countries, is slated to be held in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia from August 22 to 29. “Indian soldiers have never actively participated in a multilateral exercise that included Pakistan in the past. Troops from the two countries have, however, worked together in UN missions and operations,” an officer said. | ||
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| + | The main aim of the exercise, being conducted under the framework of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), which is headquartered in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), will be on bolstering counter-terror cooperation among the member countries. “It will see joint mock drills to eliminate terrorists and their networks, and interventions in hostage situations,” he said. | ||
| + | |||
| + | “India's participation in the exercise was confirmed by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers in Beijing last week. India joined the SCO in June 2017. The level of participation for the exercise is yet to be decided,” the officer said. | ||
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| + | The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was constituted in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Now, the grouping has eight full members, including India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Another four nations have been accorded ‘observer’ status, while six others are ‘dialogue’ partners. | ||
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| + | Indian soldiers have never actively participated in a multilateral exercise that included Pakistan, said an officer. Troops from the two countries have, however, worked together in UN missions | ||
=Nuclear arms= | =Nuclear arms= | ||
Revision as of 11:44, 1 May 2018
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
A timeline: August 1947-September 2016
Key events in India-Pakistan relations: A timeline, August 12, 2017: The Times of India
August 1947
Britain ends its colonial rule over the Indian subcontinent, which becomes two independent nations - Hindu-majority, but secularly governed India and the Islamic republic of Pakistan. The division, widely known as Partition, sparks massive rioting that kills up to 10 lakh, while another 1.5 crore people flee their homes in one of the world's largest human migrations.
October 1947
The two young nations begin a war over control of Kashmir, a Muslim-majority kingdom ruled by a Hindu maharaja. A UN-brokered cease-fire ends the war in a year with Kashmir divided between them.
January 1949
India and Pakistan agree to a UN Security Council resolution calling for a referendum in which Kashmiris would determine their future; the vote never takes place.
September 1960
India and Pakistan sign a World Bank-brokered Indus Water Treaty governing six rivers, or three rivers each. It is the only India-Pakistan treaty that has held.
August 1965
A second war begins over Kashmir, ending a month later in another UN-mandated ceasefire.
December 1971
A third war is fought, this time as India supports secessionists in East Pakistan. The war ends with the creation of Bangladesh.
July 1972
The countries' prime ministers sign an accord for the return of tens of thousands of Pakistani prisoners of war.
May 1974
India conducts a nuclear test, becoming the first nation to do so that's not a permanent UN Security Council member.
December 1989
Armed resistance to Indian rule in Kashmir begins. India accuses Pakistan of giving weapons and training to the fighters. Pakistan says it offers only "moral and diplomatic" support.
May 1998
India detonates five nuclear devices in tests. Pakistan detonates six. Both are slapped with international sanctions.
February 1999
Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee rides a bus to the Pakistani city of Lahore to meet with Pakistan counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, and sign a major peace accord.
May 1999
Conflict erupts in Kargil as Pakistani forces and Kashmiri fighters occupy Himalayan peaks. India launches air and ground strikes. The US brokers peace.
May 2001
Vajpayee and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf meet in the Indian city of Agra, but reach no agreements.
October 2001
Insurgents attack the legislature building in Kashmir, killing 38 people.
December 2001
Gunmen attack India's Parliament, killing 14. India blames militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad, and deploys troops to its western frontier with Pakistan. The standoff ends in October 2002 after international mediation.
January 2004
Musharraf and Vajpayee hold talks, launching bilateral negotiations to settle outstanding issues.
February 2007
A train service between India and Pakistan, the Samjhauta Express, is bombed in northern India, killing 68.
October 2008
India and Pakistan open a trade route across Kashmir for the first time in six decades.
November 2008
Gunmen attack Mumbai, killing 166 people. India blames Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
May 2014
India's new Prime Minister Narendra Modi invites Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to New Delhi for his inauguration.
December 2015
PM Modi makes a surprise visit to the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sharif's birthday and the wedding of his granddaughter.
January 2016
Six gunmen attack an Indian air force base in the northern town of Pathankot, killing seven soldiers in a battle that lasted nearly four days.
July 2016
Indian soldiers kill Kashmiri terrorist and Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani, sparking months of anti-India protests and deadly clashes in the region.
September 2016
Suspected terrorists sneak into an Indian army base in Kashmir's Uri and kill 18 soldiers. Four attackers are also killed. 11 days later, Indian Army said it has carried out "surgical strikes" to destroy terror launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistan.
1972: Pakistan's pro-West tilt 'stemmed from fear of India'
HIGHLIGHTS
India was very concerned about Pakistan's closeness with China even 34 year ago, newly released declassified CIA documents say
Meanwhile, Pakistan was concerned 'India and the Soviets will cooperate to impose their demands on Pakistan'.
Pakistan's pro-US tilt is the direct result of its "fear of India," says one of the thousands of documents the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released earlier this month.
"Pakistan's pro-Western orientation stems from her fear of India and USSR rather than any basic sympathy with capitalism or Christian civilisation. It is more negative than positive," an undated CIA document says. It adds that Pakistan at the time wasn't particularly pleased with the US.
"Pakistan is likely to continue basically pro-Western, despite annoyance at the US part in the UN handling of Kashmir and at the US position on North Africa in the UN", the document says.
A 1983 document also talks of Pakistan's obsession with India.
"Pakistan believes India has never accepted its independent existence and it wants to make it a weak buffer state under Indian hegemony. Islamabad is particularly concerned that India and the Soviets will cooperate to impose their demands on Pakistan," says the document from September 1983. That same document talks of India's concerns about Pakistan-China closeness, US military assistance to Pakistan and interference in peace over the Indian Ocean - all concerns that hold good to this day, a whole 34 years later.
"India views Pakistan's strong ties with China with alarm and charges that Pakistan is using the Afghanistan crisis to strengthen itself against India. It opposes US weapons assistance to Pakistan and wants to maintain the Indian ocean area free of superpower rivalry," the 1983 document says.
As for India, a 1972 CIA document says the intelligence agency believed that Indians had a very real sense of "inferiority". "In order to offset the fear that they really may be inferior, however, Indians are often so defensive - touchy and sensitive - that they appear to be offensive, that is assertive, vain, and arrogant," says the document. It then talks of India's "crushing victory over Pakistan" in the December 1971 war.
"National achievements, especially the crushing victory over Pakistan in December 1971 and the apparent ability to create a nuclear weapon, have tended to buoy self-confidence, but euphoria is transient and the feelings of national inferiority are deeply imbedded," the document says.
Diplomats: treatment of
Code of conduct, 1992
India, Pak turn to code of 1992 to put a lid on envoys’ harassment
Sachin.Parashar @timesgroup.com, The Times of India 31 March 2018
New Delhi: In a significant move to ease tensions, India and Pakistan are looking to put a lid on recent incidents of harassment of diplomats by reiterating a code of conduct arrived at in 1992 to ensure diplomatic staff are not subject to rough treatment that has accelerated a downturn in relations.
The understanding under the code of conduct (CoC) for treatment of diplomatic/consular personnel signed in 1992 after a spate of incidents of harassment indicates that India and Pakistan seem to have decided they should not sink any further in diplomatic quicksand over instances of intimidation.
The two sides have taken steps to minimise such cases in the past 5-6 days and called on each other to abide by the August 1992 CoC in dealing with diplomats in talks held here and in Islamabad.
In Delhi, the MEA said, “India and Pakistan have mutually agreed to resolve matters related to the treatment of diplomats and diplomatic premises, in line with the 1992 code of conduct.”
There have been instances of aggressive tailing of Indian diplomats in Islamabad and Pakistani diplomats have reported similar incidents in Delhi.
Talking about the significance of the CoC, former Indian HC to Pakistan TCA Raghavan said it was signed at a tense period in India-Pakistan relations and was a pragmatic attempt to ring fence diplomats from frequent turbulence in ties. “Though frequently infringed through tit-for-tat responses, it remains a standard to be invoked to reset things at more stable levels,” he said.
2018: Islamabad Club snubs Indian high commissioner
The prestigious Islamabad Club, the favourite watering hole of the Pakistani elite and foreign diplomats, has put Indian high commissioner Ajay Bisaria’s membership on hold. While Indian and Pakistani diplomats routinely, and privately of course, accuse each other of not showing even a modicum of civility in dealing with their respective missions, it’s rare for a high commissioner of either country to be treated like this.
The club is where all foreign envoys hang out in Islamabad and it’s customary for an ambassador or high commissioner to seek membership after landing in Pakistan’s capital.
Bisaria took over as Indian high commissioner late last year and applied for membership soon after. Not only has the club so far not approved his membership, it is also threatening, as TOI has learnt, to not renew the membership of other Indian diplomats. While membership for other Indian diplomats, too, has been delayed in the recent past, this is the first time that the Islamabad Club has stalled the membership of the Indian high commissioner. Memberships for envoys are normally approved within weeks, if not days.
Islamabad Club describes itself as an exclusive club whose membership comprises government officials, diplomats and the elite of Islamabad. Sprawled over 346 acres next to the diplomatic enclave, the club is the favourite hangout of all top diplomats and Pakistan policy wonks.
Pak diplomats accuse India of restricting movements
Membership is not given gratis even to top bureaucrats and diplomats.
This is the latest in a series of hostilities Indian diplomats in Pakistan have been subjected to at a time when the bilateral relationship is in a downward spiral, not least because of the daily ceasefire violations. Both countries accuse each other of having committed a record number of ceasefire violations in 2017 and while India holds Pakistani forces solely responsible, Pakistan accuses India of not responding to its proposal for a political initiative to address the issue.
Even Pakistani diplomats accuse India of restricting their movements, so much so that, they claim, they are denied permission to visit even Delhi suburbs like Noida and Gurgaon. Indian sources say all such decisions are taken on the basis of reciprocity and that Pakistan’s diplomats here are much better off compared to their Indian counterparts in Islamabad.
Late last year, as reported by TOI on December 17, India recalled three junior officials from its high commission after two of them were honeytrapped by ISI officials. Both confessed that Pakistan officials had sought classified documents from them.
2018/ India, Pakistan spar over ‘harassment’ of their diplomats
Row Triggered By ISI Raid On Islamabad Housing Complex
India and Pakistan are caught in a major diplomatic spat with each side accusing the other of harassing, even intimidating, diplomats. While Pakistan has now issued a demarche to India saying it was becoming difficult for its diplomats to function in Delhi, sources here said the present hostilities were triggered by an ISI raid on a residential complex under construction for Indian diplomats in Islamabad.
A group of 7-8 men raided the complex, owned by India, last month and disconnected electricity and water supply. Indian high commissioner Ajay Bisaria protested to the Pakistan foreign secretary on February 16 about “multiple acts of hooliganism”. But the power supply wasn’t restored for over two weeks despite the protest by Bisaria, who himself had his car intercepted recently as he was prevented from attending an event.
Sources here didn’t confirm a report in Pakistani media that Islamabad had threatened to pull out family members of diplomats but said India would probe the claims. They said Indian diplomats and their family have faced routine harassment by Pakistani officials in recent days.
‘Harassment the new normal for Indian officials in Islamabad’
Indian diplomats have repeatedly complained about unauthorised entry into their premises as well as random interception of their cars. In one case, unidentified men broke into an Indian official’s home and stole his laptop. The government, as a source said, has also not taken kindly to the fact that Islamabad Club has sought to deny membership, which is open to all diplomats, to Bisaria and other Indian diplomats. Pakistan’s interior ministry is yet to issue the no-objection certificate required for the membership given to Indian diplomats. “Harassment is the new normal for Indian high commission personnel in Islamabad,’’ a source here said.
Late last year, India had to pull out two junior officials from its high commission after the ISI honeytrapped them and later tried to blackmail them. These developments threaten to undermine an attempt by both governments to move on by first addressing humanitarian issues like release of prisoners who have served their jail
terms. The two countries, only last week, agreed to the release and repatriation of prisoners over 70 years of age and also women prisoners.
In its demarche, according to a Pakistani media report, Islamabad said the children of its deputy high commissioner were harassed by Indian authorities while they were on their way to school.
Sources said that in view of such an atmosphere of intimidation, most families of Indian officials had returned to India and children had been withdrawn from schools. “Aggressive surveillance, violation of physical space and tailing of officers in close and dangerous proximity is a perennial issue. Agency personnel keep shooting videos of the officers thrusting phones in their faces. Obscene phone calls and messages are constantly received on phones,’’ said a source.
On the issue of India’s residential project in Islamabad, sources said Pakistan had denied visas to Indian companies involved in the construction. The main contractor, who is responsible for maintenance of the chancery, is said to have been threatened by Pakistani officials. He was told to leave the complex and also warned of action against him if he continued to do business with the Indian mission. India believes that Pakistan diplomats here are operating in a much better environment than their Indian counterparts in Islamabad.
“The truth is that even the chancery can’t go about its normal business as the security guards have been threatened by Pakistani officials and asked not to allow any local to the chancery building,’’ a source here said.
Beating each other’s diplomats with clubs
Sachin Parashar, Pak diplomats for ‘reciprocity’ in club row, March 13, 2018: The Times of India
The seemingly innocuous issue involving Islamabad Club is turning into a major row between India and Pakistan with Islamabad blocking membership for Indian diplomats to ensure, as it now turns out, similar leisure facilities for its officials in tony Delhi Golf Club and Delhi Gymkhana.
While Indian high commissioner Ajay Bisaria raised the issue of Islamabad Club membership for Indian diplomats with Pakistani officials last month, Islamabad has chosen to throw the much-dreaded word in Indo-Pak diplomatic parlance — reciprocity— at New Delhi.
According to diplomatic sources, Pakistan interior ministry put on hold clearance for membership of Indian diplomats, including Bisaria himself, after the Pakistan high commission here informed Islamabad last month that clubs with similar status in Delhi were charging exorbitant rates from Pakistani diplomats. They said while Delhi Golf Club charged $15,000 from them for a 3-year membership, Indian diplomats paid only $1500-1800 for membership of the same duration at Islamabad Club.
India has responded by telling Pakistan that Delhi Golf Club and Delhi Gymkhana are private clubs and it isn’t possible for the government to ask them to cut down membership cost for anyone.
The Pakistani diplomats also claimed while Islamabad Club allowed entry to the entire families of Indian diplomats, their kids were not allowed access to Delhi clubs. The Pakistan mission said in their official communication that Delhi Gymkhana and Golf Club, even if combined together, could not offer the facilities which members of Islamabad Club had at their disposal.
Islamabad Club is open to all foreign diplomats and denying membership only to Indians has created an impression that they are being discriminated against.
India sends 13th note verbale to Pak
A day after India issued its 12th note verbale to Pakistan protesting the "intimidation" of its staff there, it gave another such diplomatic note to the neighbouring country today, taking the tally to 13, reported PTI.
The latest note came after several Indian high commission officials on Sunday faced harassment in Pakistan, reported ANI quoting sources.
"On March 18, the second secretary at the Indian high commission in Pakistan was aggressively followed by unidentified people in a car in close proximity in an intimidating manner while he was going to Chhaye Khana restaurant. Videos were made using mobile phone," the sources said.
In another incident today, four high commission officials travelling in an official vehicle were "aggressively followed" by two unknown persons on motorbikes in an "intimidating manner" when they were on their way to Aabpara market, the sources shared further.
They alleged that the website of the Indian high commission continued to be "intermittently blocked causing inconvenience and affecting the normal functioning of the mission."
The Pakistan government has been informed of the incidents, reported ANI.
Previously India gave Pakistan a note verbale through its high commission in Islamabad, specifically mentioning two incidents of harassment.
Earlier this week, Islamabad asked its high commissioner Sohail Mahmood to return to Pakistan, claiming that there had been 26 instances of harassment and intimidation of its diplomats since March 7, even as India termed the move "routine."
New Delhi alleged that its diplomats were facing harassment and being prevented from discharging their duties in Islamabad.
"Indian High Commission in Pakistan is facing many issues. We've reached out through established diplomatic channels to Islamabad. We want that our Commission in Islamabad functions smoothly, the officials are not harassed, their work is not obstructed and that the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations, 1961 is abided by," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a press briefing.
Joint undertakings
2018: India, Pak to be in multilateral military drill together
April 30, 2018: The Times of India
Indian and Pakistani combat troops, who are locked in a volatile confrontation with daily firing duels along the Line of Control in J&K, will for the first time exercise together as part of a multi-nation counter-terror war game under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Russia in August.
The exercise ‘Peace Mission-2018’, which will also see the participation of China and other SCO countries, is slated to be held in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia from August 22 to 29. “Indian soldiers have never actively participated in a multilateral exercise that included Pakistan in the past. Troops from the two countries have, however, worked together in UN missions and operations,” an officer said.
The main aim of the exercise, being conducted under the framework of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), which is headquartered in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), will be on bolstering counter-terror cooperation among the member countries. “It will see joint mock drills to eliminate terrorists and their networks, and interventions in hostage situations,” he said.
“India's participation in the exercise was confirmed by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers in Beijing last week. India joined the SCO in June 2017. The level of participation for the exercise is yet to be decided,” the officer said.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation was constituted in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Now, the grouping has eight full members, including India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Another four nations have been accorded ‘observer’ status, while six others are ‘dialogue’ partners.
Indian soldiers have never actively participated in a multilateral exercise that included Pakistan, said an officer. Troops from the two countries have, however, worked together in UN missions
Nuclear arms
2001: Musharraf mulled use of nuclear weapons against India
Dubai|`Mush mulled using nukes against India'|Jul 28 2017 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Pakistan's former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf has said that he mulled the use of nuclear weapons against India amid tensions following the 2001 terror attack on the Indian Parliament, but decided against doing so out of fear of retaliation, according to a media report.
Musharraf, 73, also recalled that he had many sleepless nights, asking himself whether he would or could deploy nuclear weapons, the Japanese daily `Mainichi Shimbun' said.
When tensions were high in 2001, there was a “danger when (the) nuclear threshold could have been crossed,“ the paper quoted Musharraf as saying. At the time, Musharraf had publicly said that he would not rule out the possibility of using nuclear weapons.
Musharraf also said, however, that at the time, neither India nor Pakistan had nuclear warheads on their missiles, so it would have taken one to two days to make them launch-ready . Asked whether he had ordered that missiles be equipped with nuclear warheads and put into firing position, he said, “We didn't do that and we don't think India also did that, thank God“ pointing, perhaps, to a fear of retaliation, the paper reported.
The two countries subsequently avoided an all-out clash and tensions subsided. The then army chief Musharraf ousted the then PM Nawaz Sharif in a coup in October 1999. The army general served as president from 2001 to 2008. Musharraf has been living in Dubai since last year when he was allowed to leave Pakistan on pretext of medical treatment. He has been charged with involvement in the murder of the former PM Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
2018
NIA puts Pakistani diplomat on ‘wanted’ list, releases his photo
HIGHLIGHTS
Amir Zubair Siddiqui was posted as visa counsellor in the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo
Siddiqui had conspired to launch 26/11-type attacks on US and Israeli consulates in India and Army and Navy commands in south India
NIA preparing to send a request to Interpol seeking red corner notices against Siddiqui and 2 other Pakistani officers
In a first, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has put a Pakistani diplomat on its ‘wanted’ list and released his photo, seeking information.
It said the diplomat — Amir Zubair Siddiqui, who was posted as visa counsellor in the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo — had been included in the list along with two other Pakistani officers for conspiring to launch 26/11-type attacks on US and Israeli consulates besides Army and Navy commands in south India in 2014. NIA said a fourth Pakistani officer posted in the high commission in Sri Lanka was also involved in the conspiracy.
The development comes even as the agency is preparing to send a request to Interpol seeking red corner notices (RCNs) against the Pakistani officers, who have reportedly been repatriated to Islamabad.
While the NIA chargesheeted Siddiqui in February, the other three officers could not be identified. The two, who have been put on the ‘wanted’ list apart from Siddiqui, are a Pakistani intelligence officer who went by his alias ‘Vineeth’, and another official codenamed ‘Boss alias Shah’. This is the first time that India has put a Pakistani diplomat’s name in the ‘wanted’ list or sought a red corner notice against one, an official said.
According to the NIA, the Pakistani officers, while serving in Colombo from 2009 to 2016, planned to attack vital installations in Chennai and other places in south India with the help of their agents. Siddiqui allegedly hired Sri Lankan national Muhammed Sakir Hussaien and others, including Arun Selvaraj, Sivabalan and Thameem Ansari, all of whom were arrested by agencies.
After recruiting them, Siddiqui and the other Pakistani officers instructed them to collect information about defence installations, nuclear establishments and movement of arms and click photographs of such places, the NIA claimed. The Pakistanis also asked them to steal laptops of senior Indian Army officers and supply fake Indian currency notes (FICN), the agency said. They planned to attack the US consulate in Chennai, the Israeli consulate in Bengaluru, the Eastern Naval Command headquarters in Visakhapatnam and various ports, the NIA claimed.
The US shared key information with India in the case which helped investigators nail the Pakistani officers. The code name for the plot to attack the US consulate in Chennai was ‘wedding hall’ which was to be executed by ‘cooks’, a code for terrorists who were to gain entry from the Maldives into India. Hussaien gave a detailed description of his meetings with various Pakistani officers based in Sri Lanka as well as two ‘fidayeen’ (suicide attackers) whom he had met in Bangkok. ‘Spice’ was the code name for the bombs, which were to beplanted at the consulate.
Pakistan bars envoy-pilgrims meet
India fumes as Pak bars envoy-pilgrims meet, April 16, 2018: The Times of India
A Sikh pilgrimage in Pakistan has turned out to be the occasion for the latest diplomatic skirmish between India and Pakistan.
India protested with the Pakistani foreign office on Sunday that visiting Sikh pilgrims were not allowed to meet the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats. The foreign ministry alleged that Indian diplomats were “compelled” to turn back when they went to meet the pilgrims at the famous Gurdwara Panja Sahib.
“India has lodged a strong protest with Pakistan against this inexplicable diplomatic discourtesy, pointing out that these incidents constitute a clear violation of the Vienna Convention of 1961, the bilateral Protocol to visit Religious Shrines, 1974, and the Code of Conduct (for the treatment of diplomatic/consular personnel in India and Pakistan) of 1992, recently reaffirmed by both countries,” an MEA statement said. India and Pakistan recently committed to follow the code of conduct after Indian and Pakistani diplomats were routinely harassed in each other’s capitals.
The MEA said an Indian high commission team “could not meet the pilgrims on their arrival at Wagah railway station on April 12. Similarly, it was denied entry into Gurdwara Panja Sahib on April 14 for a scheduled meeting with pilgrims there. The high commission was thus prevented from performing basic consular and protocol duties for Indian citizens”.
The MEA said Ajay Bisaria, high commissioner to Pakistan, who was to visit Gurdwara Panja Sahib, was suddenly asked to return while en route to the shrine on Saturday, for unspecified “security” reasons.
The Pakistani foreign office released a statement saying India had misrepresented facts. “We deeply regret this Indian attempt to generate controversy around the visits of Sikh pilgrims and to vitiate the environment of bilateral relations,” it said.
The statement said Indian diplomats were cleared to travel to the gurdwara, but reportedly some Sikh pilgrims were “angry” over an Indian film on Guru Nanak. Posing as the protector of Sikh sentiments, the Pakistani foreign office said they asked the Indian high commissioner to stay back.
According to a source, another reason why Bisaria was not allowed to meet the Sikh pilgrims could be that some local authorities wanted to discuss the Khalistan issue with them. This, the source said, wouldn't have been possible in the presence of the Indian envoy.
A group of around 1,800 Sikh pilgrims travelled to Pakistan on April 12 to visit some revered shrines.
