India Matches Pakistan Move, Removes Barricades Outside Its Delhi Mission

Authorities on Thursday removed barricades and other structures outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi after they were found to be beyond the mission’s approved boundary, official sources told PTI.

The structures, including traffic bollards, queue-management barriers and installations near the visa section, were located along a lane outside the High Commission compound in Chanakyapuri.

The action came three days after Pakistani authorities removed security barricades and parking poles outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, according to ANI.

Barricades, Queue Liners Removed Outside Mission

Authorities used JCBs to dismantle structures erected outside the Pakistani mission’s designated premises.

Visuals from the site showed broken railings, metal frames, gates, roofing sheets, bricks and concrete scattered outside the compound. Sections of fencing and corrugated roofing near the visa counters were also removed.

The visa section remained visible after the action, with signs reading “Window 1”, “Pakistani Passport Only” and “Window-5 / Collection of Visa Applications”.

The main entrance to the High Commission remained intact.

Action Follows Similar Move In Islamabad

The development followed the removal of security installations outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad earlier this week.

ANI reported that Pakistani authorities had dismantled barricades and parking poles outside the Indian mission three days before the Delhi action.

The latest exchange comes at a time when diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan remain strained, with the two countries having taken several reciprocal measures over the past year.

Separate Row Over US Envoy’s Kashmir Remarks

The demolition outside the Pakistan High Commission also coincided with a diplomatic dispute between Islamabad and Washington over remarks made by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor during a visit to Srinagar.

Gor, who is also the US special envoy for South and Central Asia, described Jammu and Kashmir as “an important part of India” after meeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday.

“This is an important part of India and so I am here visiting for the first time. It is an incredibly beautiful place and I’m thrilled to be here, thrilled to see this place,” Gor told local media.

Pakistan subsequently summoned US Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker in Islamabad.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it had issued a “strong demarche” over Gor’s visit and remarks, describing his comments as “factually incorrect”.

The ministry also “strongly condemned and categorically rejected the characterisation of Jammu and Kashmir as a ‘part of India’” and claimed the statement was inconsistent with what it described as the United States’ longstanding position on Kashmir.