New Delhi: Pakistan has upped the rhetoric over Monday night's road accident in Delhi involving its diplomat. The Pakistan Foreign Ministry has said diplomat Zirgham Raza was "harassed" and that he and his driver were physically abused.
Gopal Baglay, Indian Deputy High Commissioner, who was summoned in Islamabad, was told such incidents are "uncalled for, unnecessary and do not augur well for the overall bilateral relations, especially at a time when the leadership of the two countries is desirous of improving and normalizing relations", said a statement from Foreign Office spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry. Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai called his counterpart and described the incident as a minor traffic accident, which the police handled well by escorting the diplomat to safety and by making arrests.
Sources said Mathai "informed his counterpart about the traffic accident and said that any security concerns that they may have about the security of their staff in New Delhi would be addressed". They added that the call was made in the context of need to ensure high level contact at a time when the Pakistani High Commissioner to India was in Islamabad and the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad was in Delhi for consultations.
A woman and her nephew, who were travelling on the two-wheeler that hit the Pakistani envoy's car, have been arrested. Both have been accused of rash and negligent driving, among other charges.
They were arrested after Pakistan issued a strong statement seeking a thorough probe into the incident. Trouble began after Pakistan's First Secretary Zirgham Raza's car hit a woman and her nephew on a two-wheeler and an argument broke out.
The police soon reached the scene and escorted the diplomat away. However, a relative of the woman claims the driver of the diplomat's car was under the influence of alcohol and harassed her.
(With Additional Inputs From PTI)
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