US regrets inconvenience to Indian diplomats at airports

Washington: The US has regretted the inconvenience caused to high level Indian diplomats due to screenings at its airports, but said it is committed to meet security standards. “But, you know, we do have specific security requirements, and we’re committed to ensuring that those are met, but obviously recognising these individuals’ importance and rank are significant,” State Department spokesman, Mark Toner, told reporters. [caption id=“attachment_75085” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The US has regretted the inconvenience caused to high level Indian diplomats due to screenings at its airports. Getty Images”]  [/caption] “We shared our regret over some of these incidents involving high-level Indian diplomats here within the United States”, he said in response to a question about some news reports appearing in this regard in the Indian media. “I’m not aware of the reports that you’re talking about. I’ll have to look into them,” he said. Last year, Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar was pulled out of an airport security line and patted down by an American security agent in Mississippi despite being told of her diplomatic status, prompting Indian mission here to strongly protest against the incident. India’s UN envoy Hardeep Puri was also detained last year for more than 30 minutes in a holding room at Houston Airport, Texas, after refusing to remove his turban. PTI