Govt breached norms by assigning PSO

Thiruvananthapuram: Offering the service of a personal security officer for the UAE consul general by Kerala police has raised further questions regarding the non-adherence to the protocol set by the Centre in the dealings between the state government and a foreign mission.
In complete violation of the protocol set by the ministry of external affairs (MEA), the UAE consul general had directly communicated with the state police, on the basis of which state police chief Loknath Behera had extended the service of PSO to the consular general. The LDF took charge in May 2016 and the PSO was initially assigned on June 27, 2017. Incidentally, Jamal Hussain Al Sabi had joined as consul general of UAE in Kerala in the same year. The services of the PSO were renewed in 2018 and 2019. On December 18, 2019, the consul general had again written to the state police chief on the basis of which the PSO’s term was further extended for another one year.
As per the protocol, no security could be provided by the state government directly, without a clear-cut directive from the ministry of external affairs and the ministry of home affairs. “If a foreign representative has information on any likelihood of threat to their peace, it will, without delay, convey such information to protocol-2 section (of the MEA),” reads the security section of the protocol for diplomats. It further says that all security measures should be implemented only in consultation and approval of the MEA and requests for police assistance should also be addressed to the protocol division. Direct communication with the state government is specifically prohibited. In this case, the consul general chose to communicate with the state police chief instead of the central or state governments.
Providing a personal security officer to a consul general is unheard of, a senior foreign service official said. “These things are based on reciprocity. If he faces a specific threat, the government of Kerala can depute some security personnel on the recommendation of MEA and MHA. Our consul general in Dubai doesn’t get an escort from the Dubai police despite our mission having more threat perception due to the active presence of our immediate rival country in UAE,” he said, on conditions of anonymity.
Former diplomat T P Sreenivasan said that such measures are offered only in exceptional circumstances. “The government will provide the services of a personal security officer only in exceptional circumstances. Unless there is a specific threat to a diplomat, the services of a personal protection officer are not offered. For instance, the Indian mission is provided security in Canada because of the threat from Khalistan. However, our mission in UAE is not offered any security from the UAE government,” Sreenivasan said.
Incidentally, M Sivasankar was suspended from the service for violation of provisions of All India Service (conduct) Rules 1968 that restricts members of all India services from directly interacting with foreign missions.