Delhi protests encroachment of property in Karachi

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, APRIL 14. The residence of the Indian Consul-General in Karachi, lying vacant since the Pakistan Government decided to close down the Consulate in January 1995, is believed to have been encroached and the Indian High Commission here has lodged a protest with the Pakistan Foreign Office.

According to Indian High Commission sources, the residence, in the heart of Karachi, has been `rented out' by a Pakistani citizen after he made a false claim that he had obtained the Indian Government's authorisation.

A senior diplomat in the Indian mission described the incident as `serious' and said such a thing had not taken place even at the height of tensions after the 1971 India-Pakistan war. ``We are intrigued at the guts of the person who has rented out the premises as every one who is any one in Karachi knows very well that the property in question is owned by the Indian Government.''

In its protest note to the Pakistan Foreign Office, the Indian High Commission has referred to the provisions of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and sought to remind the Government that the safety and security of all properties of the Indian Government in Karachi are squarely the responsibility of Pakistan.

``The High Commission requests the esteemed Ministry to kindly have the matter urgently looked into to secure immediate evacuation of the present encroachment under intimation to the High Commission and to ensure that no encroachment takes place in the future at any of the Government of India properties in Karachi,'' the note said.

Besides sending what in diplomatic parlance is known as `note verbal', the High Commission has lodged an FIR at the Clifton police station. The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman, when contacted for his reaction, denied knowledge of the protest and the Director-General (South Asia), Foreign Office, was not available for comment.

Incidentally, the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Mr. Vijay K. Nambiar, while on an official tour to Karachi in March, had disclosed that New Delhi had recently sought the permission of Islamabad to open a `visa camp office' in Karachi. So far, there is no response to the request.

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