PIA in India
The Indian Enforcement Directorate has ordered PIA to close its office in New Delhi
The argument is that PIA did not get permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before it bought the properties in 2005 and out of which it has operated ever since PHOTO: AFP
The fragile links between Pakistan and India are under strain once again. The Indian Enforcement Directorate has sent an enforcement notice to the New Delhi office of PIA ordering it to close on the grounds that the buildings it occupies were ‘unauthorised’ and should be immediately disposed of. The argument is that PIA did not get permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before it bought the properties in 2005 and out of which it has operated ever since. All foreign entities have to obtain permission from the RBI before they purchase property. It is a matter of wonder that the Indian authorities appear to have suddenly noticed this discrepancy after the passing of a decade.
The concern for the Pakistan government is that this latest point of friction could be read as having political overtones despite being what appears to be an administrative confusion. The national carrier is the only airline that operates direct flights between Pakistan and India, twice weekly between Lahore and Delhi. The only other way by which citizens of either country may pass between the two is the Wagah border crossing. The dispute over the legality or otherwise of the PIA office has been rumbling for two months, and to complicate matters further, India has refused a visa extension to the PIA regional manager based in Delhi. If the Indians continue to press their case, it is going to mean that PIA operations in Delhi could be disrupted although the national carrier has so far ruled out the possibility of suspending them altogether. Any contact between Pakistan and India that has an element of normality about it needs to be nurtured rather than severed. The cutting of this link, on whatever grounds, will be symbolic and inevitably feed through to the pool of ill-will that seems never to dry up. The Foreign Office has said that it hopes the matter will be swiftly resolved, and diplomatic channels are now busy to that end. Neither country is going to benefit from this move and we too hope for an early resolution.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2015.
The concern for the Pakistan government is that this latest point of friction could be read as having political overtones despite being what appears to be an administrative confusion. The national carrier is the only airline that operates direct flights between Pakistan and India, twice weekly between Lahore and Delhi. The only other way by which citizens of either country may pass between the two is the Wagah border crossing. The dispute over the legality or otherwise of the PIA office has been rumbling for two months, and to complicate matters further, India has refused a visa extension to the PIA regional manager based in Delhi. If the Indians continue to press their case, it is going to mean that PIA operations in Delhi could be disrupted although the national carrier has so far ruled out the possibility of suspending them altogether. Any contact between Pakistan and India that has an element of normality about it needs to be nurtured rather than severed. The cutting of this link, on whatever grounds, will be symbolic and inevitably feed through to the pool of ill-will that seems never to dry up. The Foreign Office has said that it hopes the matter will be swiftly resolved, and diplomatic channels are now busy to that end. Neither country is going to benefit from this move and we too hope for an early resolution.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2015.