NEW DELHI, Dec 26: India responded to news of the arrest of its citizens in Pakistan with an advice on Friday that the country was not safe for Indians to travel there.

In response to a question about arrest of alleged Indian nationals in Pakistan, a foreign ministry spokesman said: “There have been reports in the Pakistani media that several Indian nationals have been arrested over the last two days in Lahore and Multan, and are being accused of being terrorists.”

Such an advisory, that too based on media reports, is unusual. It added: “Since it has also been reported in the Pakistani media yesterday that the senior police officer in Lahore was unaware of the arrest in his city, it seems that this is the work of other agencies in Pakistan that operate outside the law and civilian control. Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or be in Pakistan.”