Sohail Mahmood

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 22

Pakistan High Commissioner Sohail Mehmood on Friday hosted the 70th National Day celebrations at the mission in Delhi even as bilateral ties continue to be tense. The event was attended by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of State for Agriculture in the Modi cabinet, instead of any junior foreign minister as is mostly the practice, though not a norm.“Pakistan desires peaceful and good neighbourly relations with India on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect,” Mehmood said.The celebrations happen at a time when the two neighbours have been levelling allegations of harassment of each other’s diplomats by security agencies in respective countries in violation of the Vienna convention.“Pakistan and India have completed 70 years as free nations. At the time of Independence, our founding fathers had envisioned an amicable relationship between the two countries. The relations however, evolved on a different trajectory,” said Mehmood.Mehmood returned to the capital Thursday late evening after weeklong consultations with the foreign ministry in Islamabad on the issue of harassment of diplomat. Sources in Pakistan foreign ministry in apparent posturing had told local media that the envoy’s return would be subject to resolution of the issue. India has also so far sent 15 note verbales and summoned Pakistani diplomats to lodge protest against reported intimidation of Indian High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria and mission staff in Islamabad.