Pakistan Condemns India Over Illegal Diplomat Detention

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 24, 2001

Pakistan Condemns India Over Illegal Diplomat Detention

Pakistani government Sunday vehemently condemned the illegal detention and torture of Mohammad Sharif Khan, a staff member of the High Commission of Pakistan in New Delhi by the Indian intelligence operatives on December 22, and asked for a thorough investigation of the "provocative" incident.

According to a statement issued by the Office of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Sharif Khan was kidnapped at 5:30 p.m. while shopping in a local market. During the 5-hour interrogation thereafter, he was "stripped naked and severely beaten and tortured" resulting in visible and internal injuries which was confirmed by a later medical report. He was released after acknowledging "under duress" his involvement in espionage.

Describing as a "reprehensible, provocative and unacceptable action" of the Indian government, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry had lodged a strong protest with the Indian High Commission in Islamabad and requested a thorough investigation into the incident as well as appropriate measures against the culprits.

"The government of Pakistan would like to remind the Indian government of its obligations under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and the bilateral code of conduct for the treatment of Diplomatic/Consular personnel agreed between Pakistan and India in 1992," concluded the statement.

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