Overall negativity has intensified since New Delhi declared the mission a “non-family” posting and evacuated families and children

Since the Pathankot attack of January, the task of the 110 Indian officials posted in Islamabad has become tougher. In May, for instance, Indian High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale paid his first visit to Lahore since being posted in January to Islamabad.

When he reached the office of Rameeza Majid Nizami, Managing Director of Nawa I Waqt, a prominent Urdu daily in Lahore, his hosts escorted him to a nearby hall where they settled down for a chat. But even as they were sitting down, several Pakistani security personnel muscled their way in and sat, all ears, on an adjacent sofa making any meaningful conversation impossible.

Stalking and intrusive surveillance of the envoy has made it impossible for him to take anyone out for lunch as intelligence officials place themselves on tables next to him and his guest. Eighteen years ago, during the Kargil war, a similar war of nerves played out.

“The day-to-day events like Pathankot and Uri have immediate effect in the local environment leading to cancellation/rescheduling of events and engagements even for the High Commissioner,” said a diplomat, now serving in the Indian mission.

The low point came in July when Pakistani guests who were invited for a dinner to a senior diplomat’s house were assaulted and slapped around by Pakistani security personnel posted outside to humiliate and intimidate them.

“Security personnel in civvies beat up guests who had come to attend an evening get together. Senior Indian diplomats who rushed to help were warned not to intervene as it was a matter among the Pakistanis. Ever since we have stopped inviting friends home since we cannot guarantee their safety,” he said.

For years, absence of a single residential complex for all the Indian officials in the mission has posed a challenge in providing foolproof security to the mission; however that is likely to improve by the end of the year when construction is expected to be completed on the site located opposite the Indian mission. Till then, diplomats continue to reside in different parts of the Pakistani capital and have to drive to the mission unprotected.

That things were going downhill was clear when in July, the mission was declared a “non family” posting and the families and children were evacuated from Islamabad. The negativity has only got worse since then, said the diplomat.

High Commissioner Gautam Bambawale told The Hindu the risk factors are felt by all in the High Commisssion, including Pakistani staffers who play a vital role in running the mission. The unpredictable overall security situation of Islamabad only adds to the risks. Indian officials have had to encounter Pakistan’s ingenuity in many forms. Frequently, for instance, huge containers are placed on the roads to block traffic and when this happens, diplomats are advised to have minimal social interactions outside the mission as no one can help if a diplomat is caught in a traffic shut down.

An Indian diplomat could then easily be arrested and charged with espionage. The probability of this happening has increased ever since Pakistan detained a former Indian navy official, Kulbhushan Jadhav, and charged him with espionage.

Mr. Bambawale himself was at the receiving end earlier this month when the Karachi Chamber of Commerce cancelled his September 6 speech that was scheduled to be the first occasion that the Indian envoy to Pakistan was to deliver a speech in that city in several years. Mr Bambawale, however, says the uncertainty is part of the assignment.

“The Indian mission is an extended frontier of the country but we match the challenges with determination and pride as we are trained for the job,” he says. Pakistani diplomats posted in India too have often complained of harassment and “de-invitation”. Most recently, Pakistan complained that High Commissioner Abdul Basit has been de-invited by Indian hosts under pressure from the government on a number of occasions. In 2013 a senior Pakistani official was beaten up in Delhi. The incident appeared to be related to road-rage, but the Pakistanis hinted that it had retribution written all over it.