All identity cards provided by India to the US consular staff in the country have been withdrawn following the end of the deadline for surrendering such cards.

Sources said the new cards, which are replicas of the cards provided to officials at the Indian consulate in the US, are being given in lieu of the withdrawn cards.

“These cards will only be given to the consular officials and will not be provided to family members, since the family members of Indian consulate officials in the US are also not provided such cards (earlier family members were also being given such cards),” sources indicated.

This will ensure strict reciprocity in terms of the identity cards being carried by Indian and US consular officials in each other’s countries, the Indian Government said.

Besides, US consular staff will now only be permitted to import their requirements during the first six months on assuming office, as provided under the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations. Earlier, they were allowed to import their requirements over their three-year of tenure in India.

Taking a tough stand against the arrest of Devyani Khobragade, Indian Deputy Consul General in New York, the Indian Government had sought details of all Indians working in the US Embassy and consulates in India on December 17, apart from withdrawing the identity cards given to US consulates’ employees and their families.

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