ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities on Monday evening released two Indian officials briefly detained over their alleged involvement in a car accident in Islamabad.
Islamabad Police arrested the men on Monday morning in connection with an alleged hit-and-run case in which a pedestrian was injured by a car, according to Pakistani police. They said the driver tried to flee the scene but but was prevented from doing so by a crowd of people who stopped the vehicle and handed over the two men inside to officers. The pedestrian was critically injured and is being treated in hospital, police added.
The two men, who arrived in Pakistan in 2017, were named as Dwimu Brahma and Paul Selvadhas, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They work for the High Commission of India but are not diplomats, the foreign office added.
“A case has been filed against two Indian High Commission officials for their involvement in a road accident,” said police spokesman Inspector Naeem Iqbal. “Both the officials were released after a brief detention.”
Indian media had reported earlier on Monday that two Indian High Commission officials had gone missing in Islamabad while carrying out official work. Subsequent reports in India described the arrest of the officials as reciprocation by Islamabad after two officials from the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi were expelled over accusations of espionage. Pakistan rejected this charge as “false and unsubstantiated.”
