Two Indian High Commission officials have been missing from Islamabad, Pakistan, since Monday morning, according to sources.
The officials were out for an official work before they went missing. The Indian government has taken up the matter with Pak authorities.
New Delhi has complained to the Pakistan government about the deeply worrying development.
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.
Thereafter, Pakistan has been trying a tit-for-tat, targetting to expel Indian High Commission officials from the country for one reason or another.
Amid this, the High Commission is finding it difficult to resume normal functioning.
Last Friday, India registered protest in the form of a note verbale to Pakistan authorities. India has 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.
India told Pakistan that the behaviour of its agencies violated Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 and also the bilateral 1992 Code of Conduct which the two countries signed to provide diplomats immunity from hostilities in ties.
On May 31, in New Delhi, India declared two officials of the Pakistan High Commission as persona non grata on charges of espionage and ordered them to leave the country within 24 hours.
