India issues 13th Note Verbale to Pak on harassment of its HC staff

India today gave yet another Note Verbale to Pakistan through its high commission in Islamabad protesting the "intimidation and harassment" of mission officials, the 13th such diplomatic note in less than three months.

Official sources said that in the communication to the Pakistan foreign ministry, the Indian high commission specifically highlighted three cases of harassment, including one in which the second secretary at the mission was aggressively followed today by unidentified people in a car in close proximity in an intimidating manner while he was going to a restaurant.

Videos were made using a mobile phone, the sources said.

They said that in the second incident today, four high commission officials travelling in an official vehicle were aggressively followed while going to Aabpara market by two unknown persons on motorcycles in an intimidating manner.

Also, the website of the Indian high commission continues to be intermittently blocked causing inconvenience and affecting the normal functioning of the mission, the sources said.

"We have asked the Pakistan government to investigate these incidents and ensure that such incidents do not recur and share the result of the investigation with us," a source said.

The Note Verbale was sent today to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry "protesting against the intimidation and harassment" of Indian High Commission officials. This was the 13th Note Verbale this year on the subject, the sources said.

Yesterday also, India had sent a Note Verbale to Pakistan through its high commission and in the communication, it had specifically mentioned two incidents of harassment -- one yesterday and the other on March 15.

The 13th Note Verbale to Pakistan foreign ministry comes days after Islamabad called its High Commissioner home for consultations, which was termed by India as "routine" and "normal".

Pakistan had said it called home its envoy in India Sohail Mahmood for consultations after repeated incidents of "harassment" of its diplomatic staff in New Delhi.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar had said that the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was also facing a "litany of issues" which have not been resolved for several months by that country.