Sachin Parashar | TNN
New Delhi: That India-Pakistan relations remain precariously balanced, despite the bonhomie witnessed during the Manmohan Singh-Yousuf Gilani meeting in Mohali, was made evident again with Pakistan detaining an official of the Indian high commission in Islamabad within 24 hours of Gilanis departure from India.
The official was released on Friday evening, after almost a full day, only after foreign secretary Nirupama Rao called up her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir demanding that he be released immediately.
The Indian official’s detention is said to be Islamabad’s reaction to the detention of a Pakistan high commission driver by Indian authorities after he was found loitering in the restricted cantonment area near Chandigarh airport. Pakistan retaliated by detaining an Indian official of much higher rank.
An assistant with the consular wing, the Indian official mysteriously went missing while returning home from the Indian high commission in Islamabad on Thursday evening. The Pakistan high commission driver was held on Wednesday evening while Singh and Gilani were watching the India-Pakistan semi-final. As he had tried to flee after having been spotted, security agencies questioned him at length about his motive in entering the prohibited area. He was handed over to the Pakistan high commission. The Pakistanis, retaliated the same evening, on Thursday, and detained the Indian official. “Foreign secretary called up her counterpart asking that he be unharmed and released immediately. The Pakistan high commission here was also asked to ensure his security,” said a source.
The official was released on Friday evening, after almost a full day, only after foreign secretary Nirupama Rao called up her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir demanding that he be released immediately.
The Indian official’s detention is said to be Islamabad’s reaction to the detention of a Pakistan high commission driver by Indian authorities after he was found loitering in the restricted cantonment area near Chandigarh airport. Pakistan retaliated by detaining an Indian official of much higher rank.
An assistant with the consular wing, the Indian official mysteriously went missing while returning home from the Indian high commission in Islamabad on Thursday evening. The Pakistan high commission driver was held on Wednesday evening while Singh and Gilani were watching the India-Pakistan semi-final. As he had tried to flee after having been spotted, security agencies questioned him at length about his motive in entering the prohibited area. He was handed over to the Pakistan high commission. The Pakistanis, retaliated the same evening, on Thursday, and detained the Indian official. “Foreign secretary called up her counterpart asking that he be unharmed and released immediately. The Pakistan high commission here was also asked to ensure his security,” said a source.
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