Amid heightened India-Pakistan tensions, a Pakistani diplomat has been accused of espionage. On Tuesday, the BJP-led government expelled the diplomat from the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement regarding this matter. In response, Pakistan also announced the expulsion of an Indian official from the Indian High Commission in Islamabad.
The Ministry of External Affairs stated that the Indian government declared the Pakistani official working at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi as “undesirable.” The government believes that the official was engaging in activities inconsistent with their diplomatic status in India. The diplomat has been instructed to leave the country within 24 hours. The Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistani High Commission was also informed of this action.
Hours after this statement, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised espionage charges against an Indian official at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. Similarly, the official was declared “undesirable” and instructed, along with their family, to leave Pakistan within 24 hours.
A few days earlier, the Punjab Police had started an investigation into an espionage case. It is believed that the expulsion of the Pakistani official was linked to this investigation. On Sunday, May 11, the Punjab Police announced the arrest of two individuals, including a woman, for allegedly passing sensitive Indian information to a Pakistani official stationed at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.
Punjab Police DG Gaurav Yadav stated, “Acting on reliable intelligence, a suspect was arrested for leaking information about the movements of the Indian Army to a Pakistani handler.” Earlier, the Amritsar Rural Police had arrested two individuals, Masih and Suraj Masih, on espionage charges. They are accused of handing over sensitive information and photographs of Indian military posts and cantonment areas to Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. The accused allegedly received money online for leaking this information.
