India expels Pakistan visa official for alleged spying
new delhi — India announced on Thursday it was expelling a Pakistani visa official for suspected spying after he was briefly detained carrying sensitive defence documents, with tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours already running high.
New Delhi police said the official had been recruiting Indian nationals for two and a half years to spy for Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in return for cash. “Delhi police crime branch has busted an espionage racket run by a kingpin working in the Pakistan high commission,” said Ravindra Yadav, joint commissioner of police on crime.
The official, named as Mehmood Akhtar, was detained on Wednesday with documents in his possession on Indian troop deployment along the border, Yadav told a press conference in Delhi. “They used to meet once in a month at a pre-decided place to exchange documents and money,” he said.
Akhtar was later released, he added.
India’s foreign secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar summoned Pakistan’s high commissioner to inform him of the decision to expel the official within 48 hours.
“FS (foreign secretary) summons Pak High Commissioner to convey that Pak High Commission staffer has been declared persona non grata for espionage activities,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said on Twitter.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have soared since a raid last month on an Indian army base near the de-facto border dividing Kashmir killed 19 soldiers, the worst such attack in more than a decade.
India blamed militants in Pakistan and said it had responded by carrying out strikes across the heavily-militarised border, although Islamabad denies these took place.
Yadav said two Indian nationals from Rajasthan, Maulana Ramzan and Subhash Jangir, allegedly working for the ISI, were also arrested, and that Akhtar had planned to meet his Indian co-conspirators at the Delhi zoo to exchange the > Pakistan High Commission staffer Mehmood Akhtar was declared persona non-grata after he was briefly detained with documents on Indian troop deployment. > Two Indian nationals Maulana and Subhash Jangir were also arrested for allegedly working for ISI as Akhtar was to meet them in the Delhi zoo. information and cash.
He said Akhtar was carrying maps that showed the deployment of India’s Border Security Forces (BSF) and army soldiers.
“A list of jawans (soldiers) posted at the border along with soldiers who had retired from service was also recovered,” Yadav said.
The joint commissioner said the Pakistan embassy official initially said he was an Indian citizen and also showed a fake Aadhar card in the name of Mehmood Rajput of > Akhtar also possessed a fake Aadhar card in the name of Mehmood Rajput of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi. > Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul Basit lodged a “strong protest” with the Indian foreign ministry and said the detention of the official contravened diplomatic conventions. Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi.
But when he was confronted that his ID was fake, he confessed he was from the Pakistan embassy and claimed diplomatic immunity.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner Abdul Basit lodged a “strong protest” on Thursday with the Indian foreign ministry and said the detention of the official contravened diplomatic conventions, a Pakistani diplomatic source said.
“The High Commissioner denied the accusation and said we
the High commissioner (abdul basit) denied the accusation and said we (the commission) never engage in activity that is incompatible with its diplomatic status
Pakistan Diplomatic source
(the commission) never engage in activity that is incompatible with its diplomatic status,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The official has been given 48 hours to leave the country, the source said. The expulsion comes as an Indian soldier died on Thursday from injuries he received during an exchange of fire with Pakistani soldiers across the border.
“A BSF jawan (soldier) was killed today by splinter injuries he received during cross border firing from Pakistan,” Indian BSF officer Manoj Kumar said. Such firings have increased in recent months as relations between the rivals have plummeted. —
Pakistan lodges strong protest