November 10, 2005 ☼ Foreign Affairs
This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
The subcontinent’s version of the old game of spooks and diplomats is particularly rough, and many a round ends up in bloody noses and red faces. But the abduction and harassment in New Delhi of a Pakistani teenager — the son of a Pakistani official — goes beyond ‘normal’ practice.
Roshan (Ali) was picked up by unidentified kidnappers in the southern part of the city and taken to an unknown location. To his horror, he discovered that the room had three dead bodies lying around. He was made to strip and his hands were smeared with blood. Then he was given a large blood stained knife and was forced to stand next to the bodies while being photographed in different poses. Later he was blindfolded and put in a vehicle.
The abductors threw him out of their vehicle near India Gate lawns, some three kilometres away from the Pakistan High Commission. He returned to the commission premises around 2:30 am.
A handwritten note, stuffed in Roshan’s pocket, asked for his removal from New Delhi within five days or else they would release incriminating evidence about him, which “could send him to the gallowsâ€. A First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged at the Chankiyapuri police station. [DTAs bizarre and fantastic as it sounds, the Indian government would do well to expedite a complete investigation into the affair, prosecute those found guilty and present an account of its action to the Pakistani government. India itself should expect no less if something similar happens to one of its citizens in Pakistan. Whether this incident was motivated by personal enmities or by some Delhiites attempting to send a message to Pakistan, it is well beyond what is acceptable conduct in India. Whether or not it was their intention, all the miscreants managed to do was to give the folks at Pakistan’s Foreign Office the perverse pleasure of summoning the Indian high commissioner who would have no other option than to sound contrite. They scared the teenager, but shamed the nation.
If you would like to share or comment on this, please discuss it on my GitHub
Previous © Copyright 2003-2024. Nitin Pai. All Rights Reserved.