Authorities in New Delhi have cleared illegal encroachments and altered the outer security arrangements outside the Pakistan High Commission, days after Islamabad dismantled security barricades outside the Indian High Commission in Pakistan.
According to top diplomatic sources, the move is being viewed as an immediate counter to Pakistan’s decision three days earlier. The developments highlight how physical security arrangements around diplomatic missions can serve as a calibrated signalling mechanism between India and Pakistan.
The action in New Delhi also comes amid a fresh diplomatic dispute between Pakistan and the United States over remarks made by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor about Jammu and Kashmir during his visit to the Union territory.
Pakistan on Wednesday summoned US Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker and lodged a “strong demarche” over Gor’s comments on Jammu and Kashmir.
During his visit to Srinagar on Wednesday, Gor told reporters that Jammu and Kashmir is an important part of India and described it as an “incredibly beautiful place”.
Gor is also the Trump administration’s special envoy to South and Central Asia. His remarks prompted an immediate response from Pakistan’s Foreign Office, which summoned the US Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it “strongly condemned and categorically rejected” Gor’s characterisation of Jammu and Kashmir as “a part of India”.
The ministry maintained that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory and said its final status should be determined in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
The latest diplomatic exchange comes against the backdrop of renewed attention to security arrangements around the Indian and Pakistani diplomatic missions, with both sides using changes to their respective mission perimeters as a form of signalling.
