By IANS,
Islamabad : The windowpanes of India House, the residence of the Indian envoy to Pakistan, were shattered when a powerful bomb exploded outside the nearby Danish embassy here Monday. No one was hurt at India House.
An Indian source said High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal was having lunch when the deafening explosion occurred. But he and other inmates of the house were safe, Indian and Pakistani officials said.
Pakistani officials emphasized that the attack was directed at the Danish mission. India House is located about 250 feet from the Danish mission.
Indian diplomats rushed to India House after the attack. One source said: “Not one window is intact.”
External affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in New Delhi: “Yes, there has been some damage to the Indian high commissioner’s residence in Islamabad. Fortunately, no one in the residence has been hurt.”
Pakistan has since scaled up security for the Indian high commission and its staff, an Indian official told IANS in Islamabad.
The authorities linked the attack to cartoons of Prophet Muhammad some newspapers in Denmark and Norway carried about two years ago. A Danish newspaper repeated the cartoons in April this year, sparking anger in Pakistan.
After that, the embassy moved to the Serena Hotel but the visa section remained at the same venue.