India Asks Pakistan To Provide Consular Access To Two Indians Who Were Arrested By Pak Authorities For Illegal Entry

India has asked Pakistan to provide consular access to two Indians who inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistani side and were arrested there.

"We have seen reports that there were two Indian nationals who inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan sometime in 2016-17. We had informed the Pakistan officials. Since then, we did not get any response. The sudden announcement of arrest is a matter of surprise to us," said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

On Monday (18 November), Pakistani authorities produced the two Indians, Prasanth Vaindan and Bari Lal, in court for entering Pakistan without legal travel documents. Vaindan hails from Hyderabad.

According to Pakistani media reports, the two were apprehended from Bahawalpur's Yazman Mandi for illegally entering Pakistan.

Pakistani Foreign Ministry had been officially informed by India several months back about the possibility of the two Indian nationals having inadvertently crossed over to the Pakistan side, reports India Today.

Despite several requests, no response had been received from the Pakistani side so far.

(With inputs from IANS)