New Delhi: Reacting to denial of access to Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisariato to visit Gurdwara Panja Sahiband, India summoned the Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan Syed Haider Shah on Saturday.
India has also lodged a strong protest with him over the incident and a similar protest is registered at Indian High Commission in Islamabad, TOI reported.
The Indian High Commissioner and consular officials were denied access despite having travel permission granted by the ministry of foreign affairs of Pakistan.
Mr Ajay Bisatrio and his wife were stopped from visiting Gurudwara Panja Sahib at Hasan Abdal near Rawalpindi. They had to return back to Islamabad after the denial.
The Indian Government has conveyed Pakistan doing such activities like preventing Indian High Commission officials from discharging their consular responsibilities is in direct violation of the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations of 1961, and the 1974 bilateral Protocol on the visit to religious shrines.
This was not the first time when Pakistan has denied access to Indian High Commissioner from visiting Indian National pilgrims.
When the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) Indian organizers were contacted, they have expressed deep concern of the repeated denial despite the Indian pilgrims visiting Pakistan have asked the Pakistani organisers to help in arranging a meeting with the Indian High Commissioner and High Commission officials.