India’s tough measures against US diplomats following the arrest of a senior Indian diplomat in New York has impacted US Ambassador Nancy Powell who called off her travel to Nepal after her special privileges were withdrawn.

Powell, who had informed the government here about her travel plans to Nepal, cancelled her visit after airport pass which gave her special access to various procedural checks at the airport stood withdrawn as India downgraded privileges and benefits to US diplomats in sharp retaliation to the arrest of its Deputy Consul General Devyani Khobragade.

Only the Ambassador’s airport pass came with a photo ID which was exclusively for her while all other passes known as “floating” airport cards were used by the US diplomats as “if and when required” basis, government sources said.

They said the US Ambassador had informed the External Affairs Ministry about her travel plans and when she checked about her privilege of special access, she was informed that it stood withdrawn since December 19, the deadline for surrendering the special passes by the US.

With special access withdrawn, there was every possibility that the US Ambassador would have been frisked and put through other security measures like normal passengers.

Asserting that India withdrew this facility totally on “reciprocal” basis, the sources said when Indian Ambassador to the US travels in and out of that country, they don’t get any special privilege and cited the example of Meera Shankar, former ambassador who was pulled from an airport security line and frisked by a security agent in Mississippi in 2010.

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