Indian, Pakistani diplomats summoned over BSF killing of two 'infiltrators'

CdA in Islamabad, Satyanjal Pandey, and Pakistan’s CdA in Delhi, Saad Warraich, are the highest-ranking diplomats in the two capitals since both sides downgraded missions and dismissed high commissioners in 2019. File. | Photo credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

India and Pakistan on Saturday (Oct 3, 2026) summoned their diplomats and exchanged accusations over the killing of two Pakistani men who border security forces said tried to cross the international border along Punjab’s Tarn Taran district.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on Saturday (Oct 3, 2026) summoned India’s Chargé d’Affaires (CdA) in Islamabad to protest the killing of men it said were “unarmed civilians”. Late in the evening, India also summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires to reject Pakistan’s statement, protesting the “continued facilitation of illegal cross-border infiltration from Pakistan”.

After the post-mortem procedures were completed, a senior BSF official told The Hindu that they handed over the bodies of the two men to the Pakistani Rangers on Saturday. Officials have not confirmed whether any weapons were found on the men who were accused of trying to break through the border fence around 11:30 a.m. Friday morning.

While the BSF said they fired at the men, including one who escaped as they tried to cross the international border along the Tarn Taran district, Pakistan’s foreign ministry accused Indian security forces of using “unprovoked lethal force against unarmed civilians”. Both men were in their twenties and belonged to the border village of Ladhar on the Pakistani side of Punjab, according to officials quoted by Pakistani media. They have been identified as Azmat Shah, 20, and Mohsin Habibullah, 22.

“Such use of force was totally unwarranted and grossly disproportionate, resulting in the tragic loss of two precious lives. Pakistan categorically rejects any attempt to wrongly label the deceased as ‘infiltrators,'” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

On Friday (October 2, 2026), the BSF said it saw three men advancing towards the border through paddy fields on the Pakistan side and they did not stop despite several warnings. As a result, they said BSF personnel fired at them, killing two. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it had told the Indian diplomat to “conduct an immediate, transparent and credible investigation into the incident, take appropriate disciplinary and legal action against those found responsible and formally report the findings and action taken to the Government of Pakistan”.

However, the Ministry of External Affairs said the incident highlighted “a clear pattern of repeated cross-border movement of armed narcotics syndicates operating from Pakistan”, adding that India had asked Pakistan to “investigate these cross-border infiltrations, drug smuggling and the complicity of Pakistani border guards and take appropriate corrective action”.

Published – 03 Oct 2026 20:16 IST