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India Protests Pat-down Of Ambassador To US

09 December 2010 21:42 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Indian embassy in Washington has lodged strong protest to the United States over the pat-down search of a female diplomat at a US airport last week, APA reports quoting RTT News.
Indian ambassador to the US Meera Shankar was about to board a flight to Baltimore after visiting the Mississippi State University on December 4 when she was pulled out of an airport security line at the Jackson-Evers International airport.
A female Transportation Security Administration agent patted down her body even after the Americans were revealed of her official status and that she enjoys complete diplomatic immunity.
She was singled out reportedly for wearing a sari, the conventional attire of Indian women.
Reacting to the incident, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said on Thursday that his Ministry would send a very strong mail to the U.S. State Department to protest the incident, which he said was "unacceptable."
Krishna told reporters that he was surprised in the manner Meera Shankar was treated irrespective of "certain well-established conventions and practices as to how diplomats representing other countries should be treated in a particular country."
It was the second incident of its kind in the last three months. In September, India’s Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel was questioned by U.S. immigration authorities at the Chicago airport while he was on a private trip and not escorted by any Indian diplomat.