India protests against alleged harassment of its diplomats in Pakistan: Reports
New Delhi claimed its envoys were kept under ‘aggressive watch’ during a wedding reception in Islamabad last month.
New Delhi has alleged that Pakistani security officials kept the Indian High Commissioner and his deputy under “aggressive watch” during a wedding reception on December 4 in Islamabad, reports said on Tuesday. Unidentified Indian High Commission officials said that attempts were made to hack into the second secretary’s Facebook account and that he had received a notification from the social media platform about the same.
India has reportedly sent a note verbale to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on January 10, requesting it to take note of the incident, DNA reported. “Such incidents of aggressive surveillance, violation of privacy and harassment amount to a breach of the understanding reached between Pakistan’s foreign secretary and the High commissioner of India on March 27, 2018,” the statement read.
On January 13, Pakistan formally protested India’s handling of a situation involving an official from its High Commission in New Delhi, Dawn quoted an unidentified official as saying. The official, an assistant to the Pakistani naval attaché, was at Sarojini Nagar market where a woman alleged that he had behaved inappropriately with her, Hindustan Times reported.
Islamabad had reportedly expressed its disapproval over the official being detained despite him informing the police about his envoy status. Delhi Police officials, however, denied reports the Pakistani official was arrested or detained.
In December, India lodged its protest about the blocking of internet services to the High Commission, intimidation of a senior diplomat and a nearly four-hour power cut to a senior diplomat’s house in Pakistan, News18 reported.