Pak envoy being called for 'routine' consultation: MEA

Hours after Pakistan decided to call back its envoy to India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday clarified that the Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood has been called for "consultation" only, and it was a routine procedure.

"Whenever there is any issue to be discussed, any foreign ambassador of that country is called for consultation. It is not a recall," MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said when queried on the matter at a weekly press briefing.

The development has taken place after missions of both the countries complained of alleged harassment of its diplomats in the two countries.

Kumar said the issue of alleged harassment of Indian diplomats has been raised and taken up with the authorities in Islamabad.

"We will not give details of the issue which we have taken up with the Pakistan government. This is something which should be taken up through established diplomatic channels and not published in media. We expect them to look into and resolve those issues as soon as possible," the spokesperson stated.

Kumar also underscored that the safety of diplomatic missions and consular offices in both India and Pakistan were of utmost priority and assured that the missions would function normally without any obstructions or harassment in keeping with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961.

The already souring ties between India and Pakistan have taken a sharp plunge ever since ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces have increased along the Line of Control (LoC) and terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have seen a rise in the last few months.