Protest to Pak as ‘squatters’ seize Karachi consulate

New Delhi: The Indian government on Thursday lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the seizure by some unidentified “squatters” of its diplomatic property in Karachi which housed the Indian consulate till it was shut over a quarter century ago. This property belongs to India. In a “note verbale” issued on Thursday by the external affairs ministry, Pakistan has been asked to clear the property of the squatters immediately.

Pakistan’s deputy high commissioner Syed Haider Shah was summoned to the foreign office on Thursday and told that this was a serious matter and had to be addressed at the earliest. It also asked Pakistan to get the property vacated immediately.

Incidentally, the note verbale was issued on the day when India gave formal clearance for the accreditation of Pakistan’s new high commissioner Mueenul Haq to this country. Mr Haq will replace Sohail Mahmood, who is now Pakistan’s foreign secretary.

India’s consulate in Karachi is a high-value property that has been a target of squatters and the Sindh land mafia for a long time and has on earlier occasions too faced takeover attempts. The consulate was closed down in 1992 following the razing of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. It was later renovated but could not be reopened due to diplomatic problems. The latest incident took place on Wednesday night when a group of men barged into the Indian consulate property in Karachi by intimidating the guards posted for its security, and occupied it. The guards providing security to the consulate building are not armed. It is not clear whether the miscreants were armed or not. However, sources told this newspaper that the matter has been raised at the highest level in Islamabad as well.

Sources in the Pakistan government said India’s note verbale has been conveyed to Islamabad and “our people are looking in to the issue and trying to resolve it”. They added that this was an “avoidable problem”.

The latest incident comes days after Pakistani sleuths tried to spoil the iftar dinner hosted by Indian high commissioner Ajay Bisaria in Islamabad on June 2. Earlier, two Indian diplomats were locked up in a gurdwara for close to 20 minutes. India had registered a strong protest on both these incidents too. It is learnt on the issue of the diplomats being locked up, Pakistan had on June 17 shared with India its report of the “inquiry”, which India has rejected.