In a new low in its bilateral relations with Pakistan, India has advised its staff in Islamabad High Commission not to send their children to local schools.
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The announcement came after a government’s review of staffing and related policies for their diplomatic missions as also prevailing circumstances at the station. We were informed two months back. He, however, refused to comment further on the matter.
Sources said the IHC had already communicated the decision to Pakistan’s Foreign Office and the school authorities.
Burhan Muzzaffar Wani, the 22-year-old commander of Kashmir’s largest pro-independence militant group Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the fearless young martyr who Swaraj branded a “wanted terrorist”, drew huge crowds of over 200,000 Kashmiris in the funeral prayers in 50 different locations throughout Indian-occupied Kashmir, despite a strict curfew.
The two countries have been engaged in a war of words since the killing of Kashmiri pro-freedom leader Burhan Wani followed by deaths of dozen other protesters at the hands of Indian forces. “Even more condemnable than these deplorable attempts from across our border to incite violence and glorify terrorists is the fact that these attempts have been undertaken by Pakistan’s state machinery in active partnership with UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed and other leading terrorists belonging to internationally proscribed organisations”, she said. No school going and no-spouse assignments are reserved for areas like Libya and Iraq, which are termed as conflict zones.
Their children are ferried to schools in these special vehicles.
According to the editorial, a major cause of the “uprising” is the resentment among Kashmiri youths who have grown up under the brutal rule by the Indian security forces “that acts against civilians with impunity”.
India had asked Pakistan last week to ensure the safety of Indian officials and their families there in view of the threats of marches and protests at the high commission.
Another reason cited was the restriction on the free movement of the Indian students. Any trip outside Islamabad needed consent from Pakistani foreign office.
In 2009, a blast near the American school had been a shocker for many foreign diplomats.
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The Indian government had then bought bullet-proof buses that are now used by diplomatic staff to travel to their workplace. Schools are closed on account of summer vacations, with over 50 children of Indians working in Islamabad set to return to India for further schooling.
