US regrets Indian envoy’s frisking
December 10th, 2010 - 11:02 am ICT by IANSBy Arun Kumar
Washington, Dec 10 (IANS) Amid an uproar over the “pat down” screening of Indian ambassador Meera Shankar at a US airport, Washington has reached out to her and promised to see what could be done to prevent such incidents.
“We obviously are concerned about it,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday as India reacted strongly to Shankar being pulled out of an airport security line for a pat down in Mississippi despite being told of her diplomatic status.
“We will be looking into it and trying to determine both what happened and what we could do to prevent such incidents in the future,” Clinton told reporters at the State Department during a joint press availability with her Nigerian counterpart.
Indian embassy spokesman Virander Paul confirmed that the envoy was subjected to the pat down security check at the Jackson-Evers International Airport Saturday Dec 4 when Shankar came to board a flight to Washington after attending a function at the Mississippi State University.
“The US State Department has reached out to the Ambassador and has regretted what all had happened,” Paul said. “The Embassy is in touch with the State Department on this issue.”
State Department spokesman P J Crowley said Department of Homeland Security “has indicated they’re prepared to talk about” the ambassador being pulled out for secondary screening, but repeated that diplomats are not exempt from screening.
“They are subject to basic security. So everyone at the airport goes through a basic screening,” he said.
Crowley said there are published guidelines on diplomats and from a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) standpoint they followed their normal procedures.
“It is the responsibility of the TSA to assess each passenger and then work each passenger through security based on what they see,” he said, adding that as to the rationale that TSA used for this, he will let them explain it.
India has termed the treatment meted out to Shankar as “unacceptable” and said matter would be taken up with the American government.
“Let me be frank, this is unacceptable to India. We are going to take it up with the government of US that such unpleasant incidents do not recur,” External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in New Delhi.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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- US seeks to cool diplomatic row over envoy pat down - Dec 11, 2010
- India to protest envoy's US 'pat down' search, wants apology (Lead) - Dec 09, 2010
- India to protest envoy's 'pat down' search in US - Dec 09, 2010
- Insult to Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar unacceptable, says Krishna - Dec 09, 2010
- India summons US diplomat over Shankar's 'pat down' search - Dec 11, 2010
- Frisking of Indian envoy unfortunate, security policies need to be reviewed: US - Dec 10, 2010
- Another pat down of diplomat in US, India takes up issue (Lead) - Dec 14, 2010
- Envoy's airport search will be taken up with US embassy: Rao - Dec 10, 2010
- Indian Foreign Ministry conveys displeasure on patting of Ambassador Meera Shankar - Dec 11, 2010
- Meera Shankar's Pat Down Controversy Intensifies - Dec 09, 2010
- Another Indian diplomat 'patted down', issue taken up with US - Dec 13, 2010
- India's envoy to UN Hardeep Puri frisked at US airport - Dec 13, 2010
Tags: arun kumar, basic security, department of homeland security, diplomatic status, embassy spokesman, hillary clinton, indian ambassador, indian embassy, indian envoy, jackson evers international airport, meera shankar, mississippi state university, secondary screening, security check, security line, state department spokesman, transportation security administration, tsa, uproar, us state department