New Delhi, Aug 11 The Pakistani government imposed targeted restrictions on the Indian High Commission in Islamabad since June 2025, in apparent retaliation to India’s military offensive, ‘Operation Sindoor.’ The move included halting the supply of newspapers to the mission.
Pakistani authorities had issued clear instructions to local newspaper vendors and distributors not to deliver any newspapers or printed publications to the Indian diplomatic mission, say MEA sources.
As a result, the Indian diplomats stationed in Islamabad had been cut off from accessing Pakistani print media. So they found it difficult to stay informed about local news, current affairs, and developments within Pakistan through print sources. This restriction was seen as a deliberate attempt by Pakistan to curb the flow of information to Indian officials so as to prevent them from being updated on what was happening then. This was, say analysts, represented part of a broader pattern of retaliatory actions following India’s military response.
MEA sources condemned this action as “deliberate, premeditated, and in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” which guarantees the secure and dignified operation of diplomatic missions worldwide. Officials termed Pakistan’s measures a continuation of its long-standing policy of using unconventional and non-diplomatic tactics to apply pressure on Indian diplomats rather than engage in constructive dialogue.
This development followed the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and came in the aftermath of India’s ‘Operation Sindoor,’ which inflicted significant damage on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan. MEA sources characterised Pakistan’s actions, like stopping newspapers to Indian High Commission officials, as “petty retaliation” driven by frustration over its failures to counter India on the battlefield.
Diplomatic affairs experts are of the view that the restrictions, like stopping newspapers, mark a new low in India-Pakistan relations, with Islamabad escalating tensions by disrupting basic services to Indian diplomats in its capital.
--IANS
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