Pakistan envoy Sohail Mehmood set to return to India

Smita Sharma 

New Delhi, March 22

Pakistan High Commissioner to India Sohail Mehmood is returning to Delhi on Thursday, even as both countries continue to level allegations of harassment of each other’s diplomats in respective missions.

Mehmood was called back to the Islamabad Foreign Ministry for consultations last week amid a tense stand-off, where India and Pakistan accused each other of violation of the Vienna Convention that provides security to serving diplomats to be able to conduct their duties in host nations.

Dr. Faisal Mohammad, Spokesperson of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, informed the local media that Mehmood heads back on Thursday, incidentally just a day ahead of the 70th Pakistan National Day celebrations to be hosted by the envoy at the mission on Friday.

India called the High Commissioner being called for consultations as ‘routine affair’, though sources in Pakistan suggested that Mehmood’s return would be subject to resolution of the diplomats’ issue. “The High Commissioner will not return to India anytime soon”, an official source was quoted by the Pakistan media in what was seen as posturing without a formal recall of the envoy. India and Pakistan last recalled their envoys in 2002 following the terror strikes on the Indian Parliament. 

The Pakistan High Commission in Delhi circulated several videos as evidence that its “staff and their children have been chased on streets dangerously, photographed and bullied” by unknown persons accused to be security agents 7th March onwards. Mehmood personally raised this issue with Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale in a meeting on 8th March while Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad JP Singh was summoned on the issue.  

India, on the other hand, has sent more than a dozen note verbales to lodge protests against intimidation of Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and other staff members in Islamabad over the last few days through ways similar to the Pakistani complaints. ‘Harassment is the new normal for Indian High Commission personnel in Islamabad’, Ministry of External Affairs said in an earlier response. A day before he left for Pakistan, Mehmood told The Tribune, “It is hoped that better sense would prevail and measures would be taken to roll back. It is important to keep the broader picture of the overall relationship in view.” 

Relationship between the two neighbours continues to be deeply strained with severe bloodshed along the Line of Control and the International Border. As many as 503 pilgrims from Pakistan were denied visas by India and they could not participate in the annual Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer Sharif this month. Pakistani Trade Minister Pervaiz Malik stayed away from an informal WTO meeting in Delhi this week, where Pakistan with representation by a counsellor from the mission instead.