The recall of diplomats is the latest episode in the deterioration of bilateral relations between the two countries. It illustrates Paris’ impatience in the face of a crisis that has lasted for more than five months following French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments on the right to caricature of Islamic prophet Muhammad (PBUH).Â
The French decision is extremely rare: even when the country was the scene of regular attacks during the insurgency between the army and the Pakistani Taliban in 2008, the French authorities had not repatriated their staff. By recalling fifteen diplomats, the Quai d’Orsay denotes a change in its diplomacy in South Asia which is increasingly aligned with that of India, reported leading french daily newspaper Le Figaro