Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said on Thursday that an Indian request seeking assistance for the recovery of two clerics had been received, the Dawn reports.   He said the request had been forwarded to the interior ministry, which is actively pursuing the matter.

External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted this morning saying she had approached the Pakistan government for details. "We have taken up this matter with the Government of Pakistan and requested them for an update on both the Indian nationals in Pakistan," she said.


According to official sources in New Delhi, Asif Nizami, the chief priest, and Nazim Nizami had gone to visit the famous Daata Darbar shrine in Lahore and were to catch a flight from there to Karachi on Wednesday.

As per their families, while Asif was allowed to go to Karachi, Nazim was stopped at the Lahore airport on grounds of incomplete travel papers.

While Nazim went missing from Lahore airport, Asif went missing after arriving at the Karachi airport, a source said.


Image: The last pictures of the two clerics from Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Asif Nizami and Nazim Nizami, who have gone missing in Pakistan. Pic courtesy: ANI.