US To Impose Restrictions On Movement Of Pakistani Diplomats

After Pakistan banned US diplomats from visiting the country’s tribal belt and Karachi, Washington is planning to impose reciprocal restrictions on diplomats representing Islamabad, Times of India has reported.

The US will reportedly restrict the movement of Pakistani diplomats in the country from 1 May, forcing them to stay within 40 km of the city they are posted in.

Earlier, Pakistan had defended the restrictions it had imposed by calling them “security measures” intended to “protect” American diplomats.

"Typically, these kinds of restrictions are reciprocal in nature, so I'll just leave it at that," Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon said in an interview with the Voice of America's Uzbek service.

"Our diplomats are under travel restrictions. They can travel further, but they have to notify the government of Pakistan," Shannon added.

This move comes at a time when the US is pressuring Pakistan to act against its terror proxies. The relations between the two countries deteriorated following President Donald Trump’s 1 January tweet targeting Pakistan for supporting terror outfits in the region and providing them safe sanctuaries to destabilise Afghanistan. It had, last month, moved a proposal along with the United Kingdom, France and Germany to get Pakistan greylisted for not doing enough to combat terror funding. The proposal was accepted by the Financial Action Task Force. The US has also sanctioned multiple Pakistani firms on charges of nuclear proliferation.