Indian consular officials, including High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, were prevented on three occasions from meeting Sikh pilgrims visiting shrines in Pakistan.

By Ramananda Sengupta
Belying Pakistan ’s new Prime Minister Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi and his Army Chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s repeated assertions that they wanted peace with India, Indian diplomats in Pakistan are reporting a major spike in incidents of harassment and intimidation by Pakistani agencies. At least three note verbals, or unsigned diplomatic notes, were issued to Islamabad by New Delhi in December alone.

One sent on December 12 referred to the intermittent blocking of internet access to the high commission, and the blocking of Indian government sites, including the ministry of external affairs and one used by Pakistanis to apply for Indian visas. Another sent on December 23, referred to the intimidation of the deputy chief of mission JP Singh and three other Indian officials in Peshawar on December 21 by two motorcycle-borne ‘agency’ goons, forcing them to return to Islamabad.

Yet another sent on December 27 referred to a four-hour power outage at the residence of the Second Secretary Akhilesh Singh on Christmas, causing “a lot of inconvenience to the family members (including children) of the officer…It was noted that there was no electrical fault at the residence… and power supply was cut off only at his residence.”

And despite the chest thumping in Pakistan over having decided to open the Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims from India, Indian consular officials, including High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, were prevented on three occasions from meeting Sikh pilgrims visiting shrines in Pakistan.

Courtesy by : The New Indian Express