India summons Pak Charge d’ Affaires over ‘abduction and torture’ of 2 Indian mission officials

PTI, Jun 16, 2020, 9:32 PM IST

New Delhi: India on Tuesday summoned Charge d’ Affaires of Pakistan High Commission Haider Shah and a lodged a strong protest with him over the “abduction and torture” of two officials of the Indian mission in Islamabad by Pakistani agencies.

The External Affairs Ministry said these two officials of the Indian high commission were “forcibly abducted” by Pakistani agencies on Monday and kept in “illegal custody” for more than 10 hours.

The two officials were detained in Islamabad on Monday in a case of alleged “hit and run” and were released after over 10 hours following a blunt message by India to Islamabad that the duo must be freed immediately.

In a media statement, the MEA said the Indian officials were subjected to “interrogation, torture and physical assault resulting in grievous injuries to them.”

“They were released only after strong intervention by the High Commission of India in Islamabad and the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi,” it said.

“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,” the MEA said.

It said India strongly condemned and deplored the action of the Pakistani authorities against the duo.

“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 MEA said.

It said the attempt by Pakistani authorities to levy “false accusations and concocted charges” on the officials is rejected “in entirety.”

“These 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,” it said.