Persona Non Grata: One Of diplomacy's sharpest tools & what it means

India Today

On April 23, 2025, India declared Pakistan’s defence, military, naval, and air advisors posted in the High Commission in New Delhi as persona non grata — a diplomatic move that essentially expels them from the country.

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00:00The Defence, Military, Naval and Air Advisors in the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi

00:05are declared persona non grata. They have a week to leave India.

00:10That was diplomatic speak for India essentially expelling Pakistan's military advisors stationed

00:15at its High Commission in New Delhi. The technical term, persona non grata.

00:22It's Latin for person, not welcome. And in the world of diplomacy,

00:27it's one of the sharpest tools short of a war.

00:30Declaring someone persona non grata means a country is formally telling another nation

00:33that one or more of its diplomats are no longer welcome on its soil.

00:37Under Article 9 of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,

00:41a country doesn't even need to give a reason. Just a declaration is enough.

00:46But in practice, some of the reasons for PNG-ing diplomatic staff include

00:501. Acts of spying. 2. Violation of local laws or customs.

00:543. Rising diplomatic or military tensions between two countries.

00:58Once declared persona non grata, the individual has to leave within the specified time frame

01:03or risk losing diplomatic immunity, which could mean arrest or prosecution.

01:08That's rare though.

01:09And in most cases, country A declaring diplomats of country B persona non grata

01:13invariably leads to the latter reciprocating in kind.

01:16Case in point.

01:17On May 13, India expelled a Pakistani High Commission official for quote

01:22indulging in activities not in keeping with its official status in India.

01:26That's usually a euphemism for spying.

01:29Following this, Pakistan similarly declared an Indian staffer at our High Commission in Islamabad,

01:34persona non grata.

01:35Continuing the traditional diplomatic tit for tat.

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