India, Pak agree to call truce in diplomatic row

OFFICIALS SAID AN UNDERSTANDING WAS HAMMERED OUT AFTER MEETINGS BETWEEN ENVOYS FROM BOTH COUNTRIES

NEWDELHI: After weeks of trading charges regarding the harassment of each other’s diplomats, India and Pakistan announced on Friday that they had agreed to resolve the matter in line with the provisions of a 1992 pact on the treatment of officials posted at diplomatic missions.

“India and Pakistan have mutually agreed to resolve matters related to the treatment of diplomats and diplomatic premises in line with the 1992 ‘Code of Conduct for the treatment of diplomatic/consular personnel in India and Pakistan’,” said a brief statement issued by the external affairs ministry.

A similarly worded statement was issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

The two sides began accusing each other of harassing and illtreating diplomats early this month, taking bilateral ties to a fresh low and adding to tensions. The allegations came soon after the two countries announced on March 7 that they would work for the speedy release of women, elderly and mentally challenged prisoners from each other’s jails.

Officials familiar with the latest developments said the agreement on the issue of diplomats had been hammered out follow- ing meetings between the envoys of the two countries with the foreign secretaries.

Though Pakistan had recalled its high commissioner Sohail Mahmood for consultations at the height of the spat, his return to New Delhi for the Pakistan Day celebrations on March 23 was an indication that things were moving in the right direction, the officials said. Pakistani officials had indicated to journalists on March 23 that they were hopeful of the matter being resolved within a week.

The 1992 Code of Conduct facilitates the “smooth and unhindered functioning” of diplomatic and consular officials of the two countries in conformity with international laws and without violating their “privileges and immunities”.