Tit-for-tat bulldozer action outside Pak High Commission in Delhi, barricades razed
Authorities demolished structures and barricades outside the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi after finding them beyond the approved boundary. The tit-for-tat move came days after Pakistan removed security barriers outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
A section of structures and barricades outside the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi were demolished on Thursday after authorities found them to be beyond the mission's approved boundary, official sources told news agency PTI. The tit-for-tat action came three days after Pakistan removed security barricades and parking poles outside the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
The action came a day after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor described Jammu and Kashmir as “an important part of India” during his visit to Srinagar. Gor's remarks, however, are unrelated to the demolition outside the Pakistan High Commission. Islamabad later summoned the US Charge d’Affaires over Gor's remarks.
Authorities used a bulldozer to remove structures and barricades erected along the lane outside the Pakistani embassy, including queue-management installations near its visa section. The High Commission is situated in the diplomatic enclave of Chanakyapuri in south Delhi.
Visuals from the spot showed rubble, broken metal railings and gates, twisted metal frames, roofing sheets, bricks and chunks of concrete and plaster scattered across the paved area outside the mission.
Sections of the outer structures were pulled down, including corrugated roofing and white metal fencing. The facade around the service windows was damaged, with portions of plaster and masonry broken away.
The visa section remained visible amid the debris, with windows marked “Window 1”, “Pakistani Passport Only” and “Window-5 / Collection of Visa Applications”. Broken fencing and construction materials were scattered around the counters.
The main entrance of the Pakistani High Commission, with its white walls, domed features and large metal gates bearing the Pakistani emblem, remained intact. Barbed-wire fencing was visible along parts of the compound's perimeter.
INDIA-PAKISTAN TIES REMAIN SEVERELY STRAINED
The tit-for-tat bulldozer action on the Pakistani High Commission came as relations between India and Pakistan have remained severely strained, with both countries taking reciprocal diplomatic and administrative measures over the past year.
Tensions escalated sharply after the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack, in which 26 people were killed. India responded with Operation Sindoor in May, targeting terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. The military confrontation lasted about 87 hours before Pakistan sought a ceasefire on May 10.
India subsequently paused the Indus Waters Treaty, saying it would remain so until Pakistan ended its support for cross-border terrorism.
Following the Pahalgam attack, New Delhi expelled Pakistani military advisors, shut the integrated check post at Attari and withdrew visa-free entry for Pakistani nationals. It also reduced the authorised strength of the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi from 55 to 30 personnel.
Pakistan responded by closing its airspace to Indian-owned and operated airlines and shutting its side of the land border crossing.
Diplomatic ties had already been downgraded following the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir's special status in August 2019, when Pakistan reduced its diplomatic representation in India from High Commissioner to Charge d'Affaires.
The bulldozer action on the Pakistani High Commission is another instance of the tit-for-tat measures that have increasingly characterised India-Pakistan relations.