With the United Nations having approved India’s request to accredit diplomat Devyani Khobragade as a member of the country’s permanent mission to the world body, the final word on conferring full diplomatic immunity to her is awaited from the US State Department.
“We received the paperwork from the United Nations late on Friday. It is under review,” a State Department spokesperson said.It remained to be seen if the department would communicate its decision later on Tuesday or after the Christmas holiday.
UN sources said that while the Indian request has been processed as per the world body’s standard procedures, the US as the host nation needed to approve the diplomat’s transfer from the Indian consulate in New York to the Permanent Mission.
India’s UN Ambassador Asoke Mukerji wrote to the world body on December 18 seeking Khobragade’s registration as a member of India’s UN Mission. UN officials said the request was processed on December 20 and the documents were transferred to the US Government the same day.
While full diplomatic immunity would insulate Khobragade from any new action, the State Department has sought to stress that her UN posting wouldn’t “nullify any previously existing criminal charges”.
Khobragade’s attorney Daniel Arshack has clarified that court proceedings in the visa fraud case brought up by US Attorney Preet Bharara are slated to begin only on January 13. The diplomat has been exempted from personal appearance in court as it deals with the case.
Following her arrest and humiliating treatment on December 12 by the US authorities in New York on December 12, Khobragade denied all the charges. She was released on a bail bond of $250,000. She also had to surrender her diplomatic passport.
Meanwhile, S. Jaishankar, the new Indian Ambassador to the US, has arrived in Washington. Pending the formal presentation of credentials to President Barack Obama, currently on vacation in Hawaii, Jaishankar is expected to meet US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Desai Biswal at the State Department.