India summons Pakistan envoy, lodges strong protest over abduction, torture of two High Commission officials

India on Tuesday summoned Pakistan Charge d' Affaires Syed Haider Shah and lodged a strong protest over abduction and torture of two officials of the High Commission of India in Islamabad by Pakistan security agencies, saying they were subjected to interrogation and physical assault resulting in grievous injuries to them.

Shah was summoned for the second time in two days.

The External Affairs Ministry said that two officials of the Indian High Commission were forcibly abducted by Pakist agencies on June 15 and kept in illegal custody for more than 10 hours.

It said they were released only after strong intervention by the High Commission of India in Islamabad and the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi and the High Commission vehicle in which they were travelling was extensively damaged.

The MEA said the officials were video-graphed and coerced to accept a litany of fictitious allegations and concocted charges.

"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," MEA said in a release.

Strongly condemning and deploring the action of the Pakist authorities, MEA said that such continued unilateral actions by Pakistan, aimed at escalating tensions, will not succeed in diverting attention from the core issue of Islamabad's continued hostile activities and sponsorship of cross-border terrorism against India.

"This premeditated, grave and provocative action on the part of the Pakist 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," it said.

India also "rejected in entirety" the attempt by Pakist authorities to levy false accusations and concocted charges on the officials of the High Commission.

"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 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," the release said.

"Our grave concerns at the fact that the Pakistan agencies threatened to physically harm more officials of the Indian Mission have been shared," the release said.

MEA said 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.

Shah was summoned to External Affairs Ministry on Monday also and issued demarche on the arrest of two officials of Indian High Commission.

The demarche had said there should be no interrogation or harassment of the Indian officials and the responsibility for the safety and security of the concerned diplomatic personnel lay squarely with the Pakist authorities.

( With inputs from ANI )