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ISLAMABAD, March 2 (AFP) - Pakistan Saturday protested to India over "the abduction, illegal detention and torture" of two officials from its high commission (embassy) in New Delhi by Indian security personnel.

In a foreign ministry statement, Islamabad said Gul Zarin and Sultan Mehmood were attacked and dragged from their car by Indian intelligence officers on Saturday afternoon.

They were allegedly detained for more than four hours and "subjected to severe beating while being accused of pickpocketing," it said.

"The government of Pakistan has lodged a strong protest with the government of India over the reprehensible, provocative and cowardly action by India intelligence operatives," it said.

An Indian foreign ministry official in New Delhi earlier claimed the two had been caught spying.

"The staffer and his aid were caught red-handed accepting secret documents from an Indian contact," said the Indian foreign office source.

"The Indian contact was arrested while the two Pakistani nationals were returned to the Pakistan high commission in Delhi after which they spun a story about being attacked by a angry mob."

Earlier a source at the Pakistani high commission told AFP that an employee and his driver went missing after an angry mob attacked their car.

The car, bearing a diplomatic license plate, was attacked at around 3:00 pm local time (0930 GMT), the source said.

"He called the high commission and tried to seek help. His last words were, 'Our car has been attacked and the windows broken.' Suddenly his voice disappeared," the high commission source said.

"That is a completely baseless and malicious story," was the Indian foreign office response. 

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