Raphel's visit to India came soon after the Brown Amendment was passed, allowing arms sales to Pakistan, and was the third leg of her journey after Afghanistan and Pakistan. A controversial official, as far as India is concerned, she received a markedly cool reception in official circles and the media this time. As a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official said: "She had a free run the last time. She met people in the MEA and the Home Ministry. But on this visit she was restricted to just our ministry." And that too, to meeting Secretary (West) V.K. Grover. This could be easily explained. Foreign Secretary Salman Haider was away attending the Commonwealth summit along with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and Grover was the seniormost officer in the ministry. However, the fact is that although the two ministers of state, R.L. Bhatia and Salman Khursheed, were in Delhi the day Raphel met Grover, there was no meeting arranged with either of them.