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Indian authorities have demolished unauthorised structures and security barricades outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, three days after security barricades and parking poles were removed from outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad in a retaliatory move, India Today reported.
The demolition was carried out on Thursday (August 20) following a government order because the structures had been built beyond the approved boundary, government sources told news agency PTI.
The Pakistan High Commission is located in Chanakyapuri, an upscale diplomatic area of New Delhi.
A bulldozer was used to demolish structures and security barricades near the mission’s visa section that had been installed to control queues. Images from the site showed debris, including broken bricks, concrete, bent metal frames, corrugated sheets and metal railings scattered across the road.
Part of the external structure, including white metal fencing and corrugated roofing, was completely demolished. Plaster and sections of the wall around the service windows were also damaged.
Despite the debris, counters at the visa section remained visible, including signs reading “Window 1”, “Pakistani Passport Only” and “Window-5 / Collection of Visa Applications”.
The Pakistan High Commission’s main entrance, the white walls of the main building, its domed architectural features and the large metal gate bearing Pakistan’s national emblem remained intact. Barbed-wire fencing was also visible along parts of the boundary.
The demolition came a day after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor visited Srinagar and described Jammu and Kashmir as “an important part of India”. Officials confirmed that the ambassador’s remarks were unrelated to the bulldozer operation at the Pakistan High Commission.
Islamabad subsequently summoned the US chargé d’affaires to protest the ambassador’s remarks.
