New Delhi (NVI): A day after two Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad went missing, the Ministry of External Affairs today summoned the Charge d’ Affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan, Haider Shah, and lodged a strong protest over the abduction and torture of its two officials by Pakistan security agencies.
The two Indian officials were yesterday abducted and kept in custody, tortured by the Pakistan agencies in Islamabad. They were released after 10 hours.
“Two officials of the Indian High Commission were forcibly abducted by Pakistani agencies on 15 June 2020 and kept in illegal custody for more than 10 hours. They were released only after strong intervention by the High Commission of India in Islamabad and the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi,” MEA said in a statement.
The External Affairs ministry further stated that the two Indian officials were subjected to interrogation, torture and physical assault resulting in grievous injuries to them. “They were video-graphed and coerced to accept a litany of fictitious allegations and concocted charges. The vehicle of the High Commission, in which they were travelling, was extensively damaged,” it added.
Yesterday, a section of Pakistan media had reported that the two Indian officials were travelling in a car and their vehicle hit a pedestrian. The two officials tried to flee after the accident and were arrested by police, according to some Pakistan media reports.
The MEA today strongly condemned and deplored the action of the Pakistani authorities in this regard. “This premeditated, grave and provocative action on the part of the Pakistani authorities, preceded by intensified surveillance, harassment and intimidation of High Commission personnel over the past several days, was designed to obstruct and disrupt the normal functioning of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. The attempt by Pakistani authorities to levy false accusations and concocted charges on the officials of the High Commission is rejected in entirety,” it said.
MEA said that such actions by Pakistan not only constitute an egregious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 as also the ‘Code of Conduct for treatment of Diplomatic/Consular personnel in India and Pakistan signed in 1992 and reaffirmed by both sides in March 2018, but are also against all established norms and practices of diplomatic conduct.
In its complaint with the Pakistan envoy Haider Shah, India shared its grave concerns at the fact that the Pakistan agencies threatened to physically harm more officials of the Indian Mission. “It has been highlighted that Pakistan is responsible for the safety and security of the Indian High Commission, its officials, staff members, their families and properties,” MEA said.
“Such continued unilateral actions by Pakistan, aimed at escalating tensions, will not succeed in diverting attention from the core issue of Pakistan’s continued hostile activities and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism against India,” it added.
However, Pakistan’s action is being seen as an act of revenge as two of its officials in its High Commission in New Delhi were caught involved in spying last month and deported within 24 hours. Pakistan had cried foul over the issue and had summoned a senior Indian diplomat over New Delhi’s decision to expel its two officials.
