ISLAMABAD, March 11: Pakistan is considering a proposal to deploy its elite force personnel in India to protect its high commission and staff.

The move came after India announced deployment of a 16-member specialised security unit, including commandos, in Islamabad for protecting the Indian high commission and diplomats.

Sources said that a three-member team of security experts would go to India next week to assess the security of the mission there. The number of personnel to be deployed would be determined on the basis of the experts’ assessment.

The deployment of elite force personnel, a manifestation of widening distrust between the two countries, is expected to be on a reciprocal basis.

The security of high commissions of both the countries was previously the responsibility of the host countries.

Indians had started thinking of having their own security arrangements in Islamabad after last July’s attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul. The security fears were exacerbated after the Marriott hotel bombing in Islamabad.

The security team being deployed by the Indian government in Islamabad has been drawn from the country’s Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which provides security for 269 industrial locations, power plants, defence production facilities, airports and oil refineries. Besides commandos, it includes support staff and drivers specially trained for VIP movements.

The Indian high commission had sought deployment of the unit about three months back and was one of the first overseas Indian missions to have asked for a CISF cover after New Delhi promulgated an ordinance to amend the CISF Act, enabling deployment of its personnel at Indian missions abroad. The ordinance was promulgated in January after a bill in this regard had failed to make through parliament.

Previously, there was only one instance of overseas deployment of the CISF,

at the Indian embassy in Kathmandu about five years ago.

The Indian mission in Kabul is guarded by another Indian force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Force.

India has also placed a large order for bullet-proof vehicles for senior staff posted at the Islamabad mission. A special vehicle for the high commissioner has already arrived.
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