The Narendra Modi government sought to salvage its muscular image on Tuesday by asking Pakistan to halve the staff strength in its diplomatic mission in New Delhi for allegedly engaging in “espionage’’ and maintaining “dealings’’ with terrorists.

India, too, will cut down its staff strength at its mission in Islamabad by 50 per cent in keeping with the practice of reciprocity on which the bilateral relationship works. This will bring down the staff strength in both missions to 55 compared to the current agreed strength of 110.

The decision comes at a time when India is trying to dial down tensions with China after the hand-to-hand combat in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh last week that poses the biggest challenge till date to Prime Minister Modi’s carefully cultivated muscular image and has shown the government to be weak in the face of a bigger and powerful adversary.

India delivered the message to Pakistan’s Charge d’ Affaires Syed Haider Shah who was summoned to the external affairs ministry and told the decision should be implemented within seven days, by when India, too, would withdraw half of its staff from the mission in Islamabad.

Shah was informed that India had repeatedly expressed concern about the activities of officials of his high commission. “They have been engaged in acts of espionage and maintained dealings with terrorist organisations. The activities of the two officials caught red-handed and expelled on May 31, 2020, was one example in that regard,’’ the ministry said.

These two officials were accused by India of espionage and expelled from the country earlier this month.

In addition, it was said that Pakistan has simultaneously “engaged in a sustained campaign to intimidate the officials of the Indian High Commission in Islamabad from carrying on their legitimate diplomatic functions. The recent abduction at gunpoint of two Indian officials and their severe ill treatment underlines the extent to which Pakistan has gone in that direction. These officials who have returned to India on June 22, 2020, have provided graphic details of the barbaric treatment that they experienced at the hands of Pakistani agencies”.

Pakistan has accused the two Indian staff members at the mission in Islamabad of “hit-and-run’’ after their car allegedly knocked down a pedestrian in Islamabad on June 15. The officials have since returned to India.

As for harassment of diplomats, this is again something both sides allege each other of doing routinely. In Pakistan, Indian diplomats are tailed regularly and kept under strict vigil.

“The behaviour of Pakistan and its officials is not in conformity with the Vienna Convention and bilateral agreements on the treatment of diplomatic and consular officials. On the contrary, it is an intrinsic element of a larger policy of supporting cross-border violence and terrorism,’’ a statement issued by the external affairs ministry said.

The two missions were in any case downgraded after Pakistan unilaterally decided in August last year to downgrade diplomatic relations with India following the Modi government’s decision to redraw the political and geographical map of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan did not send its High Commissioner-designate to India and New Delhi was asked to withdraw his counterpart Ajay Bisaria, who has since been transferred to Canada to head the mission there.