Note verbale sent to Pak Foreign office following 4 incidents of harassments

A note verbale was sent to the Pakistan Foreign Office on Thursday on the increasing incidents of harassment and intimidation with the diplomats of the Indian High Commission.

The Note Verbale is a diplomatic note, which is unsigned and drafted in the third person.

According to sources, four separate incidents targeting some of the diplomats of the Indian High Commission took place earlier on Thursday.

A vehicle of the Deputy High Commissioner was aggressively followed by two people in a Toyota car while the former was going to an embassy.

In a separate incident, Naval Attache of this Mission was aggressively followed by a person on a motorbike, while going to Serena Hotel for a meeting.

Further Second Secretary (Political) of this Mission was aggressively followed and harassed by a person at the Street-1 Cafe within the Diplomatic Enclave. He had gone there for an official meeting with a diplomat.

The website of the High Commission of India has been intermittently blocked by the attackers over a period of time affecting the normal functioning of the Mission.

The sources said, "Such incidents of harassment, intimidation and threats to the physical security of diplomats and officials are in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961, and a threat to the security and safety of the personnel of the High Commission of India".

Further, the safety and security of Indian High Commission, its officers, staff members and their families is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan.

A request was made by the High Commission to immediately investigate all these incidents and direct the relevant authorities to ensure that such incidents do not recur.

Earlier on March 19, two separate incidents of intimidation of four High Commission officials were reported by the sources.