The Indian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement that the charge d’affaires of the High Commission of Pakistan, Haider Shah, was summoned to the ministry and a "strong protest has been lodged on the issue of the abduction and torture of two officials of the High Commission of India in Islamabad by Pakistan security agencies".
According to the ministry's statement, 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. The two Indian officials were subjected to interrogation, torture and physical assault resulting in grievous injuries to them", the ministry said.
The Indian ministry also stated that the officials were "video-graphed and coerced to accept a litany of fictitious allegations and concocted charges".
"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", the statement said.
The statement comes after two Indian officials were detained after reportedly hitting a pedestrian with their BMW. The diplomats tried to escape from the scene, but were stopped by a crowd and handed over to the police. Pakistan's Geo TV broadcaster reported that the pedestrian was seriously injured in the accident and hospitalised.
Prior to this, two officials of the Pakistani mission in New Delhi, who were apprehended by the Indian law enforcement authorities for espionage activities, were declared personae non gratae and asked to leave the country on 31 May.
