Pakistan envoy to India Sohail Mahmood calls for sober reflection

ISLAMABAD: Amid fresh incidents of alleged harassment of Pakistani diplomats in Delhi and Indian diplomats in Pakistan, Pakistan’s 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,” Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood told The Hindu in response to a question about the latest incident in Delhi, which led to the Pakistan Foreign Ministry issuing a demarche to Indian Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh on Wednesday morning.

According to a message received here Wednesday, the protest came after Pakistan’s High Commission released a video taken by one of their 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 shows men wearing helmets, riding the motorcycles very close to the Embassy vehicle, and also intimidating other drivers on the road in South Delhi who objected.

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.