NEW DELHI: India declared two Pakistani diplomats persona non grata and asked them to leave the country within 48 hours.
An external affairs ministry spokesman said the demand was conveyed to the acting Pakistani high commissioner Shahid Malik who was summoned to the foreign office Monday.
He said Syed Fyaz Mahmood Endrabi and Zafrul Hasan both counselors had been acting “in violation of accepted norms of diplomatic functioning and indulging in activities which are clearly prejudicial to the security of India” a euphemism for espionage. While lodging a strong protest against the activities of the two diplomats the government demanded that they be “withdrawn” from the country.
The Spokesman stated that the government took the step “in the face of the unthinkably inhuman and brutal treatment meted out” to Rajesh Mittal a senior Indian diplomat who was forcibly abducted from outside his house in Islamabad. New Delhi he added viewed the incident with the utmost seriousness and concern.
“We find it extraordinary that such crude attempts have been indulged in by way of what may be a response to the Indian authorities having apprehended recently several Pakistani intelligence operatives in Delhi and Punjab” he said the operatives had been “caught red-handed.”
Asked whether the sixth round of talks between the foreign secretaries of the two countries scheduled to be held here from June 1 to 3 might be cancelled in view of the incidents the spokesman said that there had been no such indication so far. He however added that the incident involving Mittal might well have been intended to “muddy the waters”
He pointed out that Malik who was summoned to the foreign office also to convey New Delhi’s strong protest against the abduction and torture of Mittal had been told that such Incidents were not conducive to building an atmosphere for meaningful discussions and creating a friendly environment.
The spokesman added “We find it a curious coincidence that such patently unacceptable behavior seeking to create an incident takes place with uncanny regularity just before meaningful dialogues are scheduled to be held on matters of bilateral interest and concern.”
Asked whether Pakistani diplomats found indulging in objectionable activities in the past had been roughed up the spokesman asserted “We believe in the Vienna convention (regarding protection of diplomats) and do not stoop to the level of others.”
He said there was “total asymmetry” in the way Pakistani diplomats were treated in Indias and Indian diplomats in Pakistan In India no distinction was made between Pakistani and other diplomats who could travel freely within the country But in Pakistan Indian diplomats were required to secure written permission to go from one place to another.
The spokesman said the Pakistani authorities had been asked to apprehend those responsible for abducting and torturing Mittal and mete out exemplary punishment to them.
Meanwhile the BJP president Dr.Murli Manohar Joshi in a strongly-worded statement said India must react sternly to the violation of the Vienna convention on diplomatic immunities and privileges. Apart from retaliatory action against the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi the government should cancel the next round of foreign secretary-level talks scheduled to be held here shortly he said.
Noting that Pakistan had “dared” to kidnap and torture Rajesh Mital counselor in the Indian high commission Dr Joshi said his refusal to sign a confession at the instance of his abductors despite third degree torture was a tribute to his patriotism and total devotion to duty. India should consider whether there should be any dialogue with Pakistan unless the latter made proper amends he added.
“The latest hostile act against India follows the presumptuous declaration of the Pakistan prime minister that he does not believe in any confidence-building measures with India as long as the question of Kashmir is not settled presumably in Pakistan’s favor. The kidnapping and torture of the Indian diplomat is hardly unrelated to the belligerence displayed by the Pakistan prime minister and other high-ups of Pakistan” he said in the statement.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 5, 1992
