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Delhi, Islamabad at odds over home minister’s armed guards
NEW DELHI: India wants to send three armed personal security officers (PSO) with Union home minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to Pakistan but the neighbouring
NEW DELHI: India wants to send three armed personal security officers (PSO) with Union home minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to Pakistan but the neighbouring country has so far agreed to allow only one unarmed PSO to accompany the minister.
Singh is leaving for Islamabad on Wednesday to attend the seventh meeting of home/ interior ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).
Sources said back channel negotiations were on to make Pakistan agree to allow at least one armed PSO with Singh.
“The convention so far is to allow armed PSOs only with the head of state. But sometimes exceptions are also made,” said a home ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) patron Hafiz Saeed and Kashmiri militant group Hizbul Mujahideen’s Pakistan-based commander Syed Salahuddin have warned of widespread protests in case Singh visits Islamabad.
“The security of Rajnath Singh is the responsibility of the host government. And we believe that Pakistan will make proper arrangements in this regard. But still we would like to send armed PSOs,” said a home ministry official.
The official added that while India would like to ensure that armed PSOs accompany Singh, time constraints could prevent authorities from securing the required permissions in time.
Singh’s officer on special duty Binod Kumar Singh is coordinating between the ministry of external affairs and Pakistan high commission to take care of the home minister’s security.
