Threatening letters: Pakistan urges security for New Delhi mission

Pakistan HC had received two letters in which unknown people threatened to blow it up.

NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan has asked the Indian government to beef up security of its high commission in New Delhi after it received threatening letters, according to the foreign ministry spokesperson.

Tasnim Aslam confirmed to The Express Tribune on Wednesday that Pakistan’s High Commission had received two letters in which unknown people threatened to blow up the mission.

“We have taken up the matter with Indian authorities [Ministry of External Affairs] and asked them to investigate,” Tasnim added. She said the Indian government had increased the security of Pakistani mission.

A senior diplomat posted in New Delhi told The Express Tribune via phone that Indian authorities were investigating the threats and would share its findings.

“They are investigating and we are waiting. They committed to share with us findings of their investigation,” added the official, who asked to remain anonymous as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

He also confirmed that the security had been enhanced as a result of threatening letters. However, the text of the letters was not revealed. There was no confirmation about who sent the letters threatening to harm Pakistani diplomats.



Times of India pointed out that this issue had arisen at a time when Pakistan had ‘become a part of the campaign rhetoric of both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress’.

Recently, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said if Modi became prime minister it would ‘destabilise regional peace’ – a statement that was slammed by both the BJP and the Congress.

Nisar had made this statement after Modi said he would bring Dawood Ibrahim back to India if he was voted to power in the ongoing parliamentary polls.

Rajiv Dogra, a former Indian ambassador to Pakistan, is of the view that he expects a more forceful policy under a BJP government, both because of domestic pressure and an uncertain regional environment as the United States pulls out troops from Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2014.