Two from Pak mission expelled for espionage

NEW DELHI: India on Sunday expelled two officials of the Pakistan high commission after they were apprehended by law enforcement authorities on charges of engaging in espionage, the external affairs ministry said.

Officials of the special cell of Delhi Police, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said three officials of the Pakistani mission were detained at Bikanervala Chowk in Karol Bagh at 10.45am on Sunday while allegedly obtaining classified materials on Indian security installations.

Pakistan’s Foreign Office, in a statement, condemned the expulsion of the two officials and contended that they were held on false and unsubstantiated charges. The statement said the Indian action is “clearly aimed at shrinking diplomatic space for the working” of the Pakistan high commission.

The three men – Abid Hussain Abid, 42, an assistant in the Pakistani mission, Mohammad Tahir Khan, 44, a clerk, and Javed Hussain, 36, a driver – had been under surveillance for the past few months, the officials said. “They were caught red-handed while obtaining documents on Indian security installations from an Indian national and handing over cash and an iPhone to him,” said an official.

The three men initially claimed they were Indians and even produced fake Aadhaar cards. “Later, during interrogation, they confessed they were officials at the Pakistan high commission and worked for the ISI,” a second official said. A case was registered against them under the Official Secrets Act, the officials said. The detentions were the result of an operation by Delhi Police and Military Intelligence. The government ordered the expulsion of Abid and Khan, who both work for the visa section at the Pakistani mission.