India on Saturday summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Pakistan High Commission and lodged a strong protest over what it described as the continued facilitation of illegal cross-border infiltration from Pakistan.
The move came hours after Pakistan summoned India’s Chargé d’Affaires in Islamabad over the killing of two Pakistani men near the International Border on October 2. Islamabad claimed the two were unarmed civilians and rejected India’s description of them as infiltrators.
India, however, rejected Pakistan’s allegations as baseless and maintained that the incident involved an infiltration attempt in Punjab.
India’s Account of the Border Incident
According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, three individuals entered Indian territory and continued moving towards the border fence despite repeated warnings from Border Security Force (BSF) personnel to return to Pakistan.
The MEA said the BSF was compelled to engage them after they posed an “imminent security threat”. India also said the incident highlighted what it described as a pattern of repeated cross-border movement by armed narcotics syndicates operating from Pakistan.
New Delhi urged Pakistan to investigate the alleged cross-border infiltration and drug-smuggling activities, as well as the alleged involvement of its border-guarding forces.
India also called for measures to prevent unauthorised movement across the International Border and stressed the need to uphold existing bilateral arrangements.
Pakistan Rejects India’s Infiltration Claim
Pakistan has disputed India’s account of the incident.
According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Indian Chargé d’Affaires was summoned on October 3 over what Islamabad described as the killing of two Pakistani civilians by BSF personnel in the Bedian Sector along the International Border on October 2.
Pakistan said the men were unarmed civilians and rejected any attempt to describe them as infiltrators. Islamabad called for an immediate, transparent and credible investigation and sought appropriate disciplinary and legal action against those found responsible.
Pakistan also said India should exercise maximum restraint, respect bilateral border arrangements and take steps to prevent similar incidents.
Three Men Reportedly Approached Indian Side
Indian officials cited in reports said three men were moving towards the Indian side of the border on Friday.
Tarn Taran Deputy Superintendent of Police Atul Soni said one of the three later returned towards Pakistan, while the other two continued moving towards the Indian side despite warnings from BSF personnel.
A BSF sentry reportedly told authorities that the two men continued to provoke the troops and expressed their intention to enter Indian territory.
The two were subsequently shot dead by BSF personnel, according to the Indian account.
Pakistan’s state media, meanwhile, reported that the three men had only moved a short distance beyond a border pillar and had not attempted to cross the border fence. It identified the two deceased as Azmat Rasool and Mohsin Jutt, while maintaining that they were civilians.
Fresh Diplomatic Exchange
The incident has led to a fresh diplomatic exchange between the two neighbouring countries, with both sides summoning each other’s diplomatic representatives.
India has linked the episode to concerns over cross-border infiltration and alleged narcotics activity, while Pakistan has called for an investigation into what it described as the killing of civilians.
The two sides have presented conflicting accounts of the circumstances leading to the firing. No independent determination of the competing claims was included in the statements cited in the reports.
