Pakistan summons Indian diplomat over border shooting of two civilians

Clash of narratives at the Punjab border

Pakistan has summoned India's top diplomat in Islamabad to protest the shooting of two Pakistani men by Indian border guards along the international frontier.

The shooting occurred on Friday in the Bedian sector, close to Pakistan's eastern Kasur district and the Indian state of Punjab. A third Pakistani civilian was wounded in the incident.

While Pakistan's foreign ministry described the victims as unarmed civilians, reports in Indian media, quoting local security sources, painted a very different picture, describing the men as infiltrators whose attempt to cross into Indian territory had been foiled.

On Saturday, Islamabad formally called in the Indian chargé d'affaires to protest the deaths. In a statement, the Pakistani foreign ministry accused India's Border Security Force of using "unprovoked and lethal force" that was "wholly unjustified and grossly disproportionate". It categorically rejected any suggestion that the men were attempting to sneak across the border, and demanded that New Delhi carry out a transparent and credible investigation into the shooting.

The Indian government has not yet issued an official comment on the incident.

Recent clashes and "false flag" claims

This latest border clash comes amid heightened tensions and a series of public disputes between the two nuclear-armed neighbours. Only a day earlier, the Pakistani military held an unusual press conference to produce a former soldier, Mohammad Asif, who was very much alive.

The move was a direct response to claims by Indian security forces in Kashmir, who had reported killing a senior Lashkar-e-Taiba commander they identified as Asif. To support their claim, Indian authorities had distributed a photograph of a Pakistani identity card belonging to Mohammad Asif. At Thursday's press conference, the former soldier stood before reporters and declared: "I am alive and in front of you."

Pakistan's military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, accused India of staging a "false flag" operation to implicate Pakistan.

Ties between the two nations have remained highly volatile since April 2025, when a militant attack in Pahalgam left 26 people dead. India blamed Pakistan for backing the attackers and launched retaliatory military strikes inside its neighbour's territory the following month. That escalation led to four days of active military engagement before both sides agreed to a ceasefire.