India-Pakistan Diplomatic Spat: Gas, Water Cut For Indian Diplomats In Islamabad Amid Retaliation

Pakistan reportedly harassesd Indian diplomats in Islamabad, cutting off utilities and newspapers, in alleged retaliation for 'Operation Sindoor'.

High Commission of India celebrates in Islamabad

In the wake of India's "Operation Sindoor," a retaliatory cross-border military operation against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, sources have revealed that Pakistan has stepped up efforts to harass Indian diplomats and officials in Islamabad, including reportedly disconnecting basic utility supplies and suspendingnewspaper delivery.

"Operation Sindoor," initiated in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack, involved nine terrorist hideouts of the Indian Army being bombed, killing more than 100 terrorists according to reports. Subsequent to this operation, India accused Pakistani authorities of a series of moves by Pakistani authorities that contravene the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

Sources say that the distribution of newspapers to the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and Indian diplomats' homes has been suspended. In retort, India has suspended the supply of newspapers to Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi as well.

In addition, there have been reports of alleged surveillance and unauthorised access to Indian diplomats' homes and offices in Islamabad, actions which are a direct violation of international diplomatic norms guaranteeing security and respect for the person of diplomatic staff. These actions are interpreted by Indian authorities as an attempt at intimidating diplomatic personnel.

Indian diplomats are also said to be suffering great hardship in getting access to even basic amenities like gas and water. Local shopkeepers, who had earlier supplied packaged drinking water and gas cylinders to the Indian High Commission, are now afraid or refusing supplies outright, allegedly on orders from Pakistani officials.

A source in Islamabad informed Aaj Tak that although Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has a pipeline attached to the Indian High Commission building, gas supply through it has been cut off deliberately. The Indian diplomats and their family members are compelled to buy high-cost gas cylinders from the open market, normally with procurement problems, despite having to pay more.

Indian officials have termed the newspaper delivery ban as a "deliberate conspiracy by Pakistan's intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), to keep Indian diplomats isolated from normal access to print media, restrict their awareness of local developments, and render their living and working conditions in Islamabad unpleasant."

Sources also pointed to a precedent for this behavior, remembering the same kind of harassment Indian diplomats had encountered in Islamabad in 2019 after the Indian Army's surgical strikes in retaliation for the Pulwama terrorist attack.