Punjab: Amid ongoing diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, 22 members of the Indian High Commission, including six diplomats, returned to India from Islamabad on Tuesday via the Attari-Wagah border.
The departure follows a reciprocal downsizing of diplomatic staff between the two countries. Earlier this month, Pakistan asked India to reduce its diplomatic presence in Islamabad by 50%, following India’s similar request directed at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
According to sources, the Indian officials included one First Secretary, two Second Secretaries, and three attachés. They left Islamabad in two buses and a truck, and crossed the border at Wagah, where officials on both sides coordinated the exit.
This move mirrors the return of 143 Pakistani High Commission officials and their families from New Delhi to Lahore earlier this week, also through the Wagah border.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated in recent years, particularly after India revoked Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. The Ministry of External Affairs has accused Pakistani officials of involvement in espionage and links to terrorist networks—allegations that Islamabad has denied, calling India’s actions a breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The tit-for-tat diplomatic reductions mark a new low in bilateral relations, with both countries asserting that their respective actions were taken in the interest of national security and diplomatic parity.