[WN] New Delhi - Two officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad have been missing since Monday morning, sources told WixtinNews. The Centre has taken up the matter with authorities in Pakistan.
It is suspected that the two staffers may have been picked up by Pakistani security agencies to frame them as spies.
According to information available so far, the two were CISF drivers who didn't reach their destination after stepping out for some work in the same vehicle around 8 am on Monday.
The Pakistani move is seen as tit-for-tat over the expulsion of two Pakistan high commission officials caught spying two weeks ago.
Several top Indian diplomats in Pakistan have since then been aggressively tailed over the last several days and India has even protested against the excessive surveillance.
Pakistan apparently is keen to "level the score" by expelling Indian officials on similar charges as those faced by its staff here, who was declared persona non grata.
The last time India expelled a Pakistan official for espionage, Islamabad managed to restore parity in 3 days by doing the same to an Indian official.
The incident comes weeks after two Pakistani officials at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi were accused of espionage and deported. The two worked in the visa section in Delhi.
Several top Indian diplomats in Pakistan have also been aggressively tailed in Islamabad over the last several days and India has protested against the excessive surveillance.
The vehicle of India's Charge d'affaires Gaurav Ahluwalia was chased by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) member recently. A biker was seen following the official's car.
In March, the Indian High Commission in Pakistan sent a strong protest note to the foreign ministry in Islamabad protesting against the harassment of its officers and staff.
In the note, India cited 13 such instances just in March and asked Pakistan to put an end to them. The government also said Pakistan should "investigate the incidents urgently and instruct the relevant agencies to ensure that these do not recur," according to ANI.
Ties between India and Pakistan have been severely strained over the past few years and have worsened with recent incidents of firing at the border and terror strikes in Kashmir
India had on Friday registered a protest with Pakistan authorities in the form of a note verbale against the surveillance.
The government has conveyed to Pakistan that the behavior of its agencies violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961, and also the bilateral 1992 Code of Conduct which the 2 countries signed to provide diplomats immunity from hostilities in ties.
India had asked Pakistan to ensure the safety and security of the Indian high commission and its staff and to allow them to resume their activities in keeping with the Vienna Convention.
Pakistan has said that activities have been curtailed keeping in mind the Coronavirus threat.
0 Comments