- Two Indian High Commission officials detained briefly after running over pedestrian in Islamabad on Monday
- Both officials of non-diplomat status handed back to Indian High Commission owing to diplomatic immunity while Indian reports claim they were let go off after New Delhi pressurised authorities in Pakistan
- India had earlier claimed harassment and assault of officials and raised concerns over alleged abduction in response to expulsion of two Pakistan High Commission officials over ‘espionage’ in New Delhi
A road accident in Islamabad has further heightened Indo-Pak tensions as diplomatic ties between the two neighbours continue to deteriorate ever since New Delhi’s abrogation of Article 370 for the annexation of held Kashmir last year in August.
As per the details, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police on Monday arrested two staff members of the Indian High Commission (IHC) over their involvement in a hit-and-run incident.
A vehicle, reportedly a BMW, hit a pedestrian walking on the embassy road at around 8 am. The two staffers, identified as Silvades Paul and Dawamu Brahamu, tried to flee after the incident but were caught by bystanders and handed over to local police.
The critically injured pedestrian, whose identity has still not been revealed, was shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Eyewitnesses said the car was being driven irresponsibly and had gotten out of control due to speeding on Khayabane Suhrawardy.
While it is said that the police were initially unaware that the two accused belonged to the IHC, an FIR [First Information Report] registered at the Secretariat police station of the federal capital, a copy of which is available with this scribe, revealed that one of the officials also possessed Rs10,000 worth of counterfeit currency.
Local police later informed the Foreign Office (FO) about the incident. However, on Monday evening the two staffers, neither of whom were diplomats, were released because they had diplomatic immunity.
The two reportedly belong to India’s Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). A sixteen-member specialised security unit from CISF has been deployed at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad since 2009 for the protection of the high commission and diplomats posted here.
Both were booked by the police for reckless driving, causing injury due to negligent driving, and possessing fake currency.
It is pertinent to note that officials at the FO were initially unaware of the development, while Indian media reports claimed that the two officials had been abducted and shifted to an undisclosed location.
Amid Indian claims that the “missing” officials were let go off after torture and New Delhi pressurising Islamabad against the alleged abduction, officials, including the assistant sub-inspector concerned, deny the claims saying it was “nothing but regular action against two people accused of hit-and-run besides possession of counterfeit currency”.
Pakistan was further asked to return the two Indian staffers along with the official car to the high commission.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Iqbal Khan said the Indians were detained and shifted to the police station for completing the legal process.
The FIR also suggests the same.
Deputy Inspector General (FIG) of Police Operation Waqaruddin Syed said that both the detained Indians were hours later released from the police custody after confirming their status from the FO.
PAYBACK?
“The officials were out for an official work before they went missing. The Indian government has taken up the matter with Pakistani authorities,” said Indian reports earlier in the day as they hinted at the possibility of “payback” in response to India declaring two officials of the Pakistan High Commission (PHC) in New Delhi “persona non grata requiring them to leave India within 24 hours” alleging that they had been found guilty of espionage.
Pakistan had condemned the Indian government’s decision to expel the staff members as part of a “persistent anti-Pakistan propaganda”.
Islamabad had said that the two staff members of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were “lifted by the Indian authorities today (31 May 2020) on false and unsubstantiated charges”. They were subsequently released after the Pakistan High Commission intervened.
“We condemn the detention and torture as well as threatening and pressuring of the diplomatic officials to accept false charges,” the FO had said.
DIPLOMATS AND RASH DRIVING:
Earlier this year, an SUV belonging to the United States (US) Embassy drove into a car on a main artery of the federal capital, killing a woman and injuring five members of her family.
The police arrested the Pakistani driver of the US Embassy, named Amjad Zaman, and registered a case against him at Margalla police station.
Accidents involving vehicles belonging to diplomatic missions, especially the US Embassy, have been frequent in recent years and in most cases the drivers got away unpunished by invoking diplomatic immunity.
In April 2018, a motorcyclist was killed after being hit by a vehicle driven by the military attaché at the US Embassy in Islamabad.
In Feb 2013, an SUV driven by an administrative assistant at the US Embassy hit two motorcyclists near Kohsar Complex on Margalla Avenue, killing one of them and injuring the other.
In July 2010, an officer attached to the US Embassy’s Force Protection Department hit and killed a young man riding a motorcycle on 7th Avenue.
In 2011, a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractor, Raymond Davis, caused countrywide outrage after he killed two persons when he ran over a motorcycle in Lahore. The deadly incident had strained ties between Washington and Islamabad. Davis went scot-free after paying blood money to the families of the victims.
