ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Afghanistan announced an indefinite closure of the consular section of its embassy in Kabul on Sunday, citing security reasons.
Members of the country’s diplomatic corps in Afghanistan have complained of being “harassed and physically threatened” on the streets of Kabul, lodging a formal complaint with the Afghan authorities and informing them that Pakistani vehicles were stopped by people “holding wireless sets” who were driving Toyota Hilux cars “without number plates.”
Earlier in the day, Pakistan summoned the Afghan chargé d’affaires to the country’s foreign office, expressing serious concerns over the safety and security of its diplomatic personnel in the neighboring country.
“The Afghan Cd’A was informed that the officers and staff of the Embassy of Pakistan were being harassed over the past two days,” the statement said. “They were obstructed on the road and the Embassy vehicles were also hit by motorcycles while going toward the Embassy.”
“The Cd’A was reminded that being a party to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities 1961, it is the responsibility of the Government of Afghanistan to ensure safety, security and freedom of movement to all members of the Mission,” the statement continued.
The Pakistani authorities also asked the Afghan diplomat to convey to his government “to immediately investigate these security violations and harassment incidents, share the report with the Government of Pakistan in this regard, and ensure against a recurrence of such incidents in future.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan have several cultural and religious affinities, though their bilateral relations have remained stained in the recent past, making their leaders indulge in a war of words in the context of the region’s battle against radicalization and extremism.
